. 


Wr,. 


8.  F.  McLEAM, 
248  90.  •nOABWAY,  LOS  AMQELKS 


(Accursed  Koccos) 


THE 

ACCURSED  ROCCOS 

A  Tale  of  Dalmatia 


By  D.  POWELL  JOHNSON 


NEW   YORK 

BROADWAY   PUBLISHING   CO. 

1918 


COPYRIGHT,  1913, 

BY 
D.  POWELL  JOHNSON. 

ENTERED  AT    STATIONER'S    HALL,   LONDON. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Accursed  Roccos 


PART   I 


CHAPTER  I 

MY  only  pleasant  memory  of  Brindisi  is  that 
I  found  McClellan  there — one  hot  June  day, 
when,  on  walking  into  the  hotel  lounge 
aiter  breakfast,  I  saw  his  big  wiry  frame  and  long 
legs  stretched  out  upon  an  easy  chair. 

As  boys  we  had  by  no  means  been  friends,  hav- 
ing had,  on  an  average,  one  battle  a  week  after 
school  let  out;  but  both  had  always  fought  fair — 
had  never  bit,  scratched,  kicked,  butted,  or  struck 
below  the  belt  except  by  accident,  so  there  was  no 
reason,  after  a  separation  of  more  than  ten  years, 
why  the  old  doubtful  relations  should  not  at  once 
be  replaced  by  new  and  much  better  ones. 

As  violinist,  Harry  had  been  far  advanced  at 
twelve  years  of  age.  Since  then  he  had  studied 
abroad.  For  the  four  years  last  past  it  seemed  that 
he  had  quarreled  with  his  last  and  equally  irascible 
teacher,  a  great,  Belgian  violinist,  spending  the 
three  warm  months  in  travel.  A  couple  of  months 
before  our  meeting  the  Professor  had  chased  him 
out  of  the  house  with  a  poker  and  Harry  had  bid- 
den adieu  by  "heaving"  a  stone  through  the  win- 
I 


2136374 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

dow.  This  row  seemed  to  have  been  final.  Now, 
after  his  summer  outing  he  was  planning  to  go  to 
Vienna  and  quarrel  with  another  great  teacher 
there.  Formerly  Harry  had  been  much  given  to 
jibes  and  scoffing,  the  which  had  led  to  most  of 
our  battles,  though  I  admit  that  the  pet  name 
"carrot-top"  was  sometimes  responsible.  As  a  man, 
the  above  characteristic  had  changed  into  a  keen 
raillery  and  biting  sarcasm  which,  I  was  sure,  would 
not  always  spare  his  friends.  However,  I  remem- 
bered again  that,  as  a  boy,  he  had  always  fought 
fair.  I  made  up  my  mind  that  he  would  fight  fair 
now;  for  as  men,  we  are  never  much  deceived  in 
other  men  whom  we  knew  as  boys.  In  any  case, 
I  congratulated  myself  that  we  would,  thereafter, 
be  in  the  same  city,  for  I  had  already  resided  a 
year  in  Vienna. 

There  was  a  third  member  of  our  party.  That 
was  Herr  Ober-Leutnant  Overmann  of  the  Aus- 
trian Army, — of  the  Ingenieurs,  and  it  had  been 
through  his  eloquence  and  urging  that  Harry  and 
I  had  decided  to  cross  over  and  visit  Dalmatia 
and  Montenegro,  on  our  way  to  Vienna.  I  had 
had  a  slight  previous  acquaintance  with  the  Ober- 
Leutnant  in  Vienna  and  knowing  beforehand  that 
he  would  be  in  Naples  I  had  hunted  him  up  there. 
We  had  come  over  to  Brindisi  together.  Harry's 
keenness  in  reading  his  fellows  was  shown  at  once, 
when,  upon  being  .introduced,  he  had  asked  the  In- 
genieur  "How  many  wives"  he  had.  The  Ingenieur 
had  been  attached,  recently,  to  the  Austrian  garri- 
son in  Trebinje  where  he  was  to  have  special  work 
which  would  occupy  his  time  for  several  years. 
But  he  was  already  no  stranger  to  Dalmatia.  The 
Ingenieur  spoke  English  almost  without  accent,  and 
seldom  made  a  mistake  of  any  account. 

2 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s         ' 

"But  I  hear  you  cannot  get  anything  to  eat  over 
there,"  objected  Harry. 

"Of  course,"  answered  the  Ingeneur,  "all  is  very 
primitive  in  Dalmatia.  Except  in  Ragusa  there 
are  no  palatial  hotels,  no  pate  de  foie  gras,  or 
broiled  live  lobsters.  But  if  you  be  a  good  traveler 
you  do  not  mind  such  things  as  that  any  more  than 
you  mind  going  under  the  pump  to  wash.  On  the 
other  hand  Dalmatia  has  much  that  must  interest 
any  intelligent  person,  because  it,  especially  in  the 
south^  has  stood  still; — is  of  yesterday,  not  of 
to-day.  It  does  not  matter  much,  whether  one  be 
set  down  in  London,  Paris,  Berlin,  Rome,  or  any 
other  city.  In  the  latter  day  striving  for  luxury 
and  modernity  they  have  grown  to  be  alike,  and 
changing  your  city  is  largely  a  mere  change  of 
hotel  and  scarcely  worth  the  trouble,  and  what  one 
says  of  those  large  centers  is  equally  true  of  the 
popular  Meccas  of  lesser  size  throughout  Europe. 
Most  of  them  are  false,  hollow  and  ridiculous. 

But  you  will  not  find  Dalmatia  modern.  Here 
you  will  find  what  you  are  looking  for;  local  cus- 
toms and  superstitions,  dress  and  ceremonies  which 
date  even  from  Roman  days.  You  will  like  Dal- 
matia because  it  is  something  else  than  Europe 
with  its  Swiss  hotels,  pusillanimous  thieving  hotel 
and  waiter  class,  society  of  ephimerides  and  demi- 
mondaines  with  their  cavaliers,  and  mob  who  pay 
to  stare  and  be  stared  at,  and" 

Harry  interrupted,  with  a  drawl: 

"I  say,  Herr  Ober-Leutnant,  have  you  bought 
stock  in  a  Dalmatian  vineyard?" 

"And,"  continued  the  Ingenieur  to  me,  without 
taking  notice  of  the  interruption,  "in  Dalmatia  and 
Montenegro  you  will  not  find  people  who  attempt 
to  dress  like  the  Crown  Prince  and  his  dame  on 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

one  hundred  crowns  a  month,  but  people  who  wear 
a  costume  which  their  ancestors  wore," 

"Their  clothes  cleaning  establishments  are  more 
careful  than  in  Europe  itself  then  I"  asserted  Harry 
obstinately. 

"And  for  holidays,  at  least  one  suit  of  clothes  in 
a  lifetime  will  suffice  for  them.  There,  instead  of 
the  liason,  is  still  the  custom  of  marriage,  and  in- 
stead of  divorce,  the  vendetta" 

"And  still  you  are  recommending  a  man  like 
my  friend  Ed  Ransome  to  go  there!" 

"And  above  all,  beautiful  women — and  strong." 

"Ah!  The  preamble  was  long,  but  the  essential 
statement  comes  at  last !  I  see  how  it  is,  Ed !  The 
Ingenieur  is  in  love  with  a  Dalmatian  woman — 
that's  it !" 

"Never  mind  him,  Herr  Ober-Leutnant !  Ever 
since  he  was  very  young  he  has  had  treatment  for 
this  trouble, — and  in  vain" 

"Treatment  which  you  knew  how  to  give,  didn't 
you,  Eddie?" 

"Oh,  it  is  all  right,"  said  the  Ingenieur,  "and  he 
is  right.  Come  over  and  I'll  introduce  you  to  her. 
I'll  even  let  you  take  her  away  from  me  if  you  can. 
Could  I  offer  more?" 

"That,  is  decidedly  a  gold  brick!"  muttered 
Harry,  but  not  loud  enough  for  the  Ingenieur  to 
hear. 

All  this  had  occurred  in  the  hotel  lounge  and 
there  had  been  much  more  of  it.  Whatever  else 
he  might  be  the  Ingenieur  was  a  companionable  fel- 
low for  a  day,  as  Harry  and  I  agreed  over  a  glass 
of  whiskey  and  soda  just  before  retiring.  We  both 
agreed  that  he  was  not  a  man  to  be  trusted,  but 
that  did  not  concern  us — we  did  not  need  to  trust 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

him.  "We  could  enjoy  him  until  he  showed  his 
cloven  hoof  and  then  dismiss  him." 

Toward  evening  two  days  later,  on  a  tramp 
steamer,  the  Punta  d'Ostro  hove  in  sight  and  soon 
thereafter  we  were  passing  between  the  frowning 
batteries  on  this  and  the  Punta  d'Arza  into  the 
Bocche  of  Cattaro.* 

We  lost  the  Ingenieur  at  Castel  Nuovo,  our  first 
halt  after  entering  the  outermost  of  the  gulfs.  By 
this  time  we  were  keenly  sorry  to  part  with  him, 
but  he  solemnly  promised  to  come  down  from 
Trebinje  and  see  us  again  if  he  could  get  leave. 
He  informed  us  that  he  would  go  by  horseback 
from  here  to  Ragusa  the  following  morning,  and 
then  to  Trebinje.  Harry  and  I  wondered  why  he 
had  not  gone  direct  to  Gravosa  by  which  he  would 
have  had  a  better  ship  and  a  closer  connection. 
This,  of  course,  was  none  of  our  business,  but 
Harry  had  always  been  incorrigible. 

As  the  Ingenieur's  boat  started  away  toward 
shore  he  called  out : 

"Herr  Ober-Leutnant !  Does  the  fair  one  live 
at  Castel  Nuovo?" 

"One  does.  I'll  send  you  letters  to  the  others 
who  live  farther  up." 

"But  we  want  to  know  the  one  who  lives  here." 

"You'll  find  all  that  are  good  for  you  at" 

But  his  voice  was  lost  for  his  rowers  were  mak- 
ing good  time  and  our  ship  was  turning  her  prow 
up  one  of  the  most  beautiful  land-locked  sheets  of 
water  in  the  world.  We  soon  partially  forgot  our 
companion  for  the  wild  land  and  sea-scapes,  now 
broad  water,  now  narrow  inlet,  islands,  head-lands 
and  elevations  everywhere  in  sight  dotted  by  church 


*  Pronounced  Cat'taro. 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

or  monastery,  or  by  fortress  new  or  old,  the  high 
points  crowned  by  the  crimson  glow  of  the  setting 
sun.  Finally,  through  a  very  narrow  pass,  Le 
Catene,  in  olden  times  closed  to  the  enemies'  ships 
by  chains,  we  entered  the  vestibule,  so  to  speak, 
which  serves  for  the  Gulf  of  Risano  to  the  north, 
and  the  Gulf  of  Cattaro  proper,  to  the  south.  Here 
our  eyes  were  greeted  by  the  most  beautiful  pic- 
ture we  had  ever  seen.  Upon  the  opposite  shore 
lay  the  dead  city  of  Perasto.  On  our  left,  not 
far  off,  the  twin  islets  of  San  Giorgio  and  Madonna 
della  Scalpello,  the  first  occupied  by  old  deserted 
batteries  arranged  upon  the  ruin  of  an  ancient 
Benedictine  monastery,  the  latter  by  a  votive  church 
the  very  walls  of  which  seem  washed  by  the  waters 
of  the  gulf.  Then  our  ship  cut  sharply  to  the 
south  and  we  passed  into  the  lovely  Gulf  of  Cattaro 
itself,  walled  in  by  lofty  peaks  and  headlands  like 
a  Norwegian  fjord,  dominated  by  the  Lovgen, 
sacred  mountain  of  the  Montenegrins — all  gray 
black  and  wild.  Along  the  shores,  upon  the  drift, 
so  to  speak,  which  seems  to  have  fallen  from  the 
peaks  above,  lie  the  old  towns,  one  after  another 
and  sometimes  in  continuous  line,  Drahava,  Maro- 
vich,  Dobrota; — Donji  Stolivo,  Perzagno,  Mula, 
sad  monuments  of  a  past  magnificence,  the  im- 
mense size  of  some  of  whose  houses  bespeak  the 
memory  of  the  traveler  for  those  who  once  footed 
it  there  in  silks  and  satin  and  who  made  their  last 
bow  to  us  with  the  passing  of  the  galley  and  the 
high-sterned  Venetian  ships-of-sail.  All  of  the 
houses  are  of  "Bocchesan"  style,  few  dating  from 
less  than  a  century  ago  and  many  much  more,  and 
the  loop  holes  and  other  arrangements  for  defence 
which  distinguish  many  are  silent  witnesses  of  the 
less  quiet  and  secure  times  back  to  which  these  old 

6 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

structures  can  look.     To-day  very  many  of  them 
are  tenanted  by  memories  only. 

Night  was  falling  as  we  reached  the  town  of 
Cattaro  and  disembarked  upon  the  Riva.  A  motley 
chattering  assemblage  was  taking  an  evening  prom- 
enade outside  the  town  walls.  We  were  destined 
to  make  better  acquaintance  with  some  of  them 
than  we  were  expecting  to  do,  as  we  followed  our 
baggage  through  the  Marine  gate,  through  the  nar- 
row and  populous  streets,  to  the  primitive  little  inn. 


CHAPTER  II 

WE  had  decided  to  begin  our  sight-seeing  at 
Perasto,  so  accordingly,  after  breakfast  the  fol- 
lowing brilliant  sunny  morning,  having  bargained 
by  means  of  Harry's  Italian  with  the  first  boatman 
who  offered,  we  were  early  on  our  way  to  the  dead 
city,  being  conveyed  in  a  "barque"  propelled  by  two 
rowers  who  stood  up,  facing  forward,  and  pushed 
on  the  oars. 

The  Ingenieur  had  said  that  Perasto  contained 
some  four  hundred  and  fifty  houses  of  which  more 
than  three  hundred  were  uninhabited  and  mostly 
ownerless — to  be  had  for  the  mere  taking  posses- 
sion, provided  any  one  wished  to  own  a  ruin.  A 
little  way  off  it  looked  like  a  beautiful  marble  city 
with  many  varieties  of  architectural  frontage  and 
ornamentation,  the  little  cathedral  with  its  hand- 
some Byzantine  bell-tower  dominating  all.  It  was 
only  after  our  boat  floated  alongside  of  a  short 
dilapidated  stone  pier  which  many  a  dainty  velvet 
clad  foot  had  trod  in  days  of  yore  that  we  realized 
that  Perasto  was  indeed  of  the  past.  Her  ruins 
greeted  the  eye  in  almost  every  frontage  in  every 
direction — and  so  silent  was  she,  that  our  own 
voices  would  startle  us. 

I  shall  not  burden  the  reader  with  an  account  of 
the  romantic  houses  and  spots  over  which  Harry 
and  I  spent  many  warm  but  happy  hours  that  day. 
Instead  I  shall  turn  to  my  story  itself,  and  with  as 
little  digression  as  possible,  endeavor  to  make  to 
my  reader  the  first  mention  of  a  certain  curious 
character  of  the  dead  Venetian  past,  in,  as  nearly  as 

8 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  can  remember,  the  same  manner  by  which  it  was 
made  to  us. 

This  mention  occurred  in  the  course  of  a  con- 
versation with  the  priest  of  San  Nicolo.  We  had 
at  last  found  him  at  four  o'clock,  and  with  him  we 
visited  his  church  and  sacristy.  The  day  had  been 
exceedingly  hot,  the  sacristy  was  cool,  and  the 
Riverenci,  who  spoke  both  Italian  and  German,  had 
proven  to  be  a  most  interesting  personality,  know- 
ing, as  he  did,  all  there  was  on  record  of  the 
Bocche  from  the  time  of  Queen  Teuta  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  After  reciting  the  many  vicissitudes  en- 
dured by  Perasto  through  conquest,  piracy,  feuds 
and  earthquakes,  he  finally  told  us  of  the  last  days 
of  the  Venetian  Republic  and  of  the  ceremonious 
burial  under  the  high  altar  of  his  church  of  the 
standard  which  had  been  confided  to  Perasto  by  the 
Doge. 

"And  with  the  burial  of  the  gonfalon  was  in- 
terred the  life  and  prosperity  of  Perasto.  For  not 
only  did  the  city  itself  never  again  thrive,  but 
many  families  buried  their  records  and  treasure 
during  those  troublous  times.  For,  mind  you,  Na- 
poleon would  have  burnt  the  Holy  Virgin  herself 
for  gold,  to  say  nothing  of  her  images,  and  the 
later  Austrians  also  allowed  little  to  filter  through 
their  fingers.  Well,  as  many  a  family  was  wholly 
wiped  out  in  the  course  of  the  next  twenty-five 
years,  many  records  and  treasures  have  remained 
buried  and  forgotten." 

"Why  did  these  people  not  apply  to  the  Church 
for  protection?"  asked  Harry,  after  some  further 
conversation. 

"The  Church  herself  needed  protection  in  those 
days.  However,  some  did  apply, — and  that  ques- 
tion recalls  a  story." 

9 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

In  obedience  to  his  beckon  we  followed  him  into 
the  church.  He  resumed. 

"Please  notice  yonder  slab  in  the  pavement — 
there  in  the  light." 

We  walked  over  to  it.  It  was  an  ancient  grave- 
stone and  the  letters  were  only  partly  decipherable. 

"It  is  much  worn  and  injured  but  you  can  still 
read,  'here  lies  Pietro  Rocco,  mariner  and  mer- 
chant,   by  the  Grace  of  God may  he 

rest  in  peace/  His  body  no  longer  rests  here  as  his 
daughter,  many  years  later,  removed  his  bones  to 
Curzola." 

*This  date  seems  to  have  been  1759.  Am  I 
right?"  asked  Harry. 

"I  think  so,  Signor.  That  was,  of  course,  the 
date  of  his  burial,  since  it  could  not  have  been  that 
of  his  birth.  He  was  the  last  in  the  direct  male 
line,  of  the  accursed  Roccos" 

"The  accursed  Roccos?" 

"Yes,  they  were  so  called.  We  do  not  know  for 
certain  why,  but  I  have  some  reason  to  suppose  that 
Rocco's  Secretarian  ancestor  was  one  of  the  six 
Perasto  conspirators  who  in  1535  murdered  the 
Abbot  of  San  Giorgio  while  he  was  celebrating 
mass,  and  at  the  moment  of  consecration.  These 
conspirators  and  their  families  were  cursed, — how 
or  by  whom,  we  have  no  record,  but  they  all  in  the 
direct  line  died  out  through  illness  or  lack  of  heirs. 
The  Rocco  who  lay  here  was  the  very  last  male 
scion  of  them  all.  Are  you  tired  of  the  tale, 
Signori?  No?  You  are  very  polite!  Well,  I  will 
continue : 

The  date  here  given  on  the  gravestone  was  of 

course  many  years  before  the  fall  of  the  Republic, 

but  like  many  another  man,  Rocco's  descendants 

lived  after  him.    Not  much  is  known  now   of  the 

IO 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

intimate  history  of  the  family,  but  we  do  know 
a  little.  First  of  all,  do  not  forget  that  Pietro 
Rocco  was,  supposedly,  a  fabulously  rich  man. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Perzagno  and  had  two  houses 
over  there.  He  had  no  sons,  and  thus  his  name 
ended  with  him ;  but  had  three  daughters,  his  favor- 
ite being  the  second  one,  Albina.  These  daughters 
always  quarreled  bitterly,  it  seems,  with  one  an- 
other and  with  their  father.  Just  why,  we  no 
longer  know,  but  we  believe  their  infelicity  to  have 
been  a  part  of  the  curse.  The  eldest  and  youngest 
were  devout  followers  of  the  Church,  and  in  time 
took  up  their  residence  in  a  convent  somewhere  on 
the  gulfs  and  entered  the  novitiate.  Rocco  himself, 
no  doubt,  really  an  ex-pirate,  was  bitterly  enraged 
at  this  and  gathering  together  a  band  of  the  haidu- 
kans,  remnants  of  which  still  existed  on  the  gulfs, 
he  broke  into  the  convent,  removed  his  daughters, 
and  imprisoned  them  in  some  place  or  other  of  his 
own  selection.  But  for  this  sacrilegious  act  he  re- 
ceived a  prompt  retribution  from  his  Maker. 

One  of  these  haidukans  seems  to  have  been  an 
expert  musician  and  an  equally  expert  squire  of 
dames.  We  have  no  record  of  how  the  matter 
came  about,  but  Rocco's  favorite  daughter  Albina, 
in  due  time  after  this  event,  was  found  to  be  with 
child,  and  Rocco  soon  identified  his  daughter's 
cavalier  in  the  person  of  the  haidukan  in  question. 
We  know  from  an  old  letter  that  about  this  time 
Rocco  lay  in  his  bed  badly  wounded,  and  that  the 
haidukans  held  an  impressive  funeral  ceremony 
over  their  gay  member.  This  event  no  doubt  still 
further  embittered  the  relations  between  the  daugh- 
ters and  between  them  and  their  father. 

There  was  further  trouble  between  Rocco  and 
the  band  of  haidukans,  but  from  now  on  the  record 
II 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

of  the  family  is  unknown  until  about  the  time  of 
Rocco's  death,  save  that  the  offending  daughter  was 
later  married  and  widowed,  and  that  her  illegiti- 
mate son  grew  to  manhood,  though  not  in  his  grand- 
father's house. 

The  last  knowledge  that  we  have  of  Rocco  him- 
self, is  that  rendered  desperate  by  the  constant  quar- 
rels and  bickerings  of  his  daughters,  he  built  a  pe- 
culiar house  and  swore  that  they  should  live  in  it 
for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  This  house  still  stands, 
and  if  you  will  search  between  the  north  end  of 
Perzagno  and  the  beginning  of  Stolivo  you  will 
readily  find  it.  It  is  known  as  Le  Tre  Sorelle.  It 
is  built  together,  but  in  three  separate  divisions 
which  formerly  had  no  communication  with  each 
other,  and  Rocco  intended  each  division  for  a 
daughter." 

"Curious!  And  did  the  sisters  live  there?" 
"I  do  not  know  from  any  record,  but  they  no 
doubt  did,  as  in  those  days  the  word  of  the  master 
of  the  house  was  the  household  law.  Albina  spent 
her  last  years  in  Curzola,  but  that  was  long  after 
all  the  rest  had  died." 

"And  what  became  of  Rocco's  great  fortune?" 
"That  brings  us  to  the  point  of  my  tale.  No  one 
knows  what  he  did  with  it.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  in  possession  of  certain  very  rich 
lands.  An  old  will  still  to  be  read  in  the  archives 
shows  that  these  lands  were  left  to  Albina,  and 
there  was  a  clause  that  she  care  for  her  sisters  dur- 
ing their  life  time.  But  unless,  as  is  often  the 
case,  Rocco's  wealth  was  greatly  over-estimated, 
he  must  have  lost  or  disposed  of  the  most  of  it 
before  his  death,  for  the  lands,  though  rich,  scarce- 
ly counted  in  the  estate  he  was  supposed  to  have. 
However,  the  lands  were  there,  and  in  due  time 

12 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Albina  herself  passed,  leaving  these  lands  to  her  il- 
legitimate son  on  the  condition  that  he  bear  her 
husband's  name,  which  was  Portulan.  At  the  fall 
of  the  Republic  this  illegitimate  child,  then  in  mid- 
dle life,  was  among  those  who  claimed  the  protec- 
tion of  the  church,  on  the  ground  that  during  her 
later  life  his  mother  had  been  a  faithful  member  of 
our  Communion.  This  was,  of  course,  true,  and  it 
had  been  on  this  ground  that  her  father's  interment 
had  been  allowed  here." 

"Are  any  of  their  descendants  still  living?" 
"Oh,  yes.  The  present  possessor  of  these  very 
lands  is  a  rich  wine-grower  who  lives  over  in 
Perzagno.  He  has  a  young  daughter  and  a  niece. 
The  niece  is  in  the  paternal  line  and  is  the  heiress 
to  old  Rocco's  lands.  If  you  ever  meet  them  they 
doubtless  can  tell  you  more  of  Albina  Portulan 
than  I  can,  as  they  must  have  many  a  letter  and 
document  to  which  I  have  no  access,  of  course. 
They  are  Oriental  heretics,  now." 

"Ah,  I  see !    Then  this  niece's  name  is  Portulan." 
"Yes,  since  that  was  Albina's  name  by  marriage." 
"A  fascinating  tale,  Ed!     It  has  the  advantage 
over  many  other  old  stories,  in  that  it  is  continued 
down  to  the  present  in  the  persons  of  living  wit- 
nesses, so  to  speak." 

"What  were  the  sisters  like  in  their  personal  ap- 
pearance?" I  asked. 

"We  have  no  record  as  to  that,"  answered  the 
priest.  "We  only  know  that  the  family  was  Vene- 
tian, of  Secretarian*  rank  and  not  mixed  with  the 
Slavs.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  tell  you  more  of 
them." 


*  That  is,  the  "Cittadini  originarii,"  who  ranked  next 
to  the  Patricians  and  equal  with  the  nobility  of  the  main- 
land— very  like  the  Equestrian  rank  of  ancient  Rome. 

13 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"But,  Signer,  perhaps  we  have  remained  too 
long  here.  If  you  will  come  to  my  house  I  will  try 
to  find  something  in  the  way  of  poor  refreshments 
for  you,  and  if  you  like,  will  relate  some  other  tales 
of  the  place."  * 

The  day  was  going  when  we  again  reached  the 
dilapidated  pier  and  haled  our  boatmen  out  of  a 
neighboring  wine  room.  It  had  been  intensely  hot 
but  the  evening  was  cool  and  we  prepared  to  spend 
two  lazy  luxurious  hours  under  bright  stars. 

But  a  few  minutes  after  starting  we  were  treated 
to  a  beautiful  surprise.  One  by  one  the  numberless 
little  towns  around  the  gulf  sprang  into  illumina- 
tion, and  before  every  town  one  or  more  beach  fires 
were  lighted.!  On  questioning  the  boatmen  we 
learned  that  this  was  St.  John's  day  and  that  this  il- 
lumination was  usual  each  year.  Moreover,  before 
every  house  wherein  resided  any  one  named  "John" 
a  beach  fire  would  be  lighted.  We  had  noticed  these 
collections  during  the  day  as  we  had  rowed  past 
several  places,  but  I  had  taken  them  to  be  mere 
wood  piles,  and  the  fact  that  this  was  St.  John's 
day  had  either  escaped  mention  in  our  hearing  or 
had  received  but  a  passing  notice.  Therefore  this 
display  was  a  complete  surprise.  "John" — 
"Johan,"  "Jovani" — "Giovanni"  is  a  very  common 
name  in  nearly  every  language,  so  the  beach  fires 
were  many  and  soon  the  shores  of  the  gulf  looked 
like  a  vast  rosary,  each  bead  springing  into  flame 
as  it  was  counted.  In  the  other  houses  candles  and 
lamps  burned  in  the  windows  and  in  every  little 

*  Since  the  date  of  this  conversation  the  old  church  has 
been  "restored"  and  Rocco's  grave-stone  has  disappeared. 

t  The  adaptation  to  Christian  purposes  of  the  ancient 
pagan  custom  of  lighting  fires  at  the  summer  solstice. 

14 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

coffee-house  was  a  crowd  of  merry-makers  whose 
jests  and  laughter  came  floating  out  to  us  as  we 
rowed  along. 

As  we  came  to  Dobrota  the  illumination  and 
beach  fires  seemed  to  be  especially  important  and 
we  requested  our  rowers  to  cut  in  and  pass  as 
near  by  as  possible,  with  the  result  that  we  were 
soon  within  almost  leaping  distance  of  the  ends  of 
the  short  stone  piers  as  we  passed.  Here  in  one 
quarter  near  a  tiny  chapel  on  a  rocky  point  and  a 
votive  cross  upon  a  rock  in  the  water,  was  a  vast 
fire  located  in  front  of  a  very  large  old  time  house, 
which  itself  was  brilliantly  lit  up  from  ground  floor 
to  garret.  A  large  gathering  of  people  extended 
from  this  house  to  the  beach  fire  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  barques  lay  moored  there.  As  we  came  up 
a  brilliant  party  left  the  house  and  came  down  to 
the  boats.  Our  rowers  said  it  was  a  wedding  party, 
and  that  the  groom's  name  must  be  "Jonn-"  The 
people  were  gaily  dressed,  some  in  fancy  local  cos- 
tumes and  there  was  a  sprinkling  of  military  uni- 
forms. All  were  laughing  and  chattering  as  they 
began  to  clamber  into  the  boats  by  the  light  of  the 
fire  and  of  many  lanterns  and  torches. 

We  were  only  a  few  yards  away  when  the  party 
left  the  house  and  had  no  difficulty  in  identifying 
the  bridal  pair  in  the  persons  of  a  trim  little  girl  in 
flowing  veils  and  a  big  dark-browed  man  in  evening 
clothes.  I  had  just  time  to  notice  them  when  I 
almost  fell  out  of  the  boat  in  my  surprise,  and  at 
almost  the  same  instant  Harry  seized  my  arm.  He 
said  something  but  I  did  not  hear  it. 

Just  behind  the  bridal  couple  was  the  rest  of  the 
bridal  party  awaiting  its  turn  to  embark,  and  all 
in  the  full  light  of  the  fire.  Among  these  latter 
ones  stood  a  young  girl  bearing  the  loveliest  of  all 

15 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  beautiful  faces  it  had  ever  been  my  lot  to  look 
upon.  She  seemed  to  be  of  more  serious  cast  than 
the  merry-makers  who  surrounded  her  for  she  only 
smiled  when  the  others  bent  double  with  laughter, 
and  spoke  when  the  others  chattered.  Pride  and 
dignity  were  discernible  in  the  face,  which  never- 
theless could  smile  sweetly,  and  a  certain  sadness 
seemed  evident  in  eyes  which  at  the  same  time  were 
bright  and  inviting.  I  wondred  why  the  sadness 
was  there  and  began  forthwith  to  be  jealous  of  the 
cause,  and  with  this  found  myself  bending  so  far 
over  the  side  of  the  barque  that  a  rough  word  of 
warning  and  Harry's  pull  upon  my  arm  came  none 
too  soon  to  avoid  an  involuntary  and  embarrassing 
dip  into  the  gulf.  I  suppose  this  rescue  caused 
some  clatter  in  our  boat  for  several  of  the  party 
were  now  observing  us.  We  were  pointed  out  to 
the  bridal  couple,  and  all  leveled  I  know  not  what 
good-natured  jests  at  us  which  our  boatmen  seemed 
able  to  answer,  as  more  screams  and  laughter  fol- 
lowed their  sallies. 

Among  the  others,  the  beautiful,  sadly  smiling 
face  was  also  turned  upon  us,  and  with  a  certain 
eagerness,  as  I  wished  to  believe.  Harry  had  sat 
down  behind  me  and  she  could  not  have  seen  him 
well.  I  hoped,  I  believed,  she  was  looking  at  me; 
and  as  I  watched  her  all  the  rest  of  the  party  and 
all  things  round  about  her  became  invisible  in  the 
keen  intensity  of  interest  centered  upon  that  one 
beautiful  face. 

"Well,"  Harry  broke  in  roughly,  "it  seems  to  me 
that  we  are  intruding!" 

"The  gulf  belongs  to  all,"  I  answered,  as  I  sat 
back  in  my  place.  He  ordered  the  rowers  to  pro- 
ceed, then  said: 

"So  do  the  streets  of  a  city;  but  even  there,  we 
16 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

sometimes  get  it  in  the  neck  for  staring.  Of  course 
nothing  happens  to  the  fellow  who  has  'hay-seed' 
legibly  written  all  over  him — any  more  than  to  any 
other  man  who  is  known  to  be  not  quite  right." 

"There  is  no  hay  on  you,  Harry.  It  all  took  fire 
from  that  poll  of  yours  and  burnt,  years  ago.  Be- 
sides I  do  not  believe  we  were  intruding  upon  that 
good-natured  happy  company." 

"I  understand  these  people  better  than  you  do, 
Ed.  They  are  partly  Servian,  but  they  are  also 
partly  Italian.  And  you  must  remember  that  we 
only  know  the  Ingenieur  a  little.  He  plainly  meant 
to  get  rid  of  us  by  leaving  the  ship  at  Castel  Nuovo. 
We  must,  therefore,  respect  his  incognito  now  until 
he  chooses  to  hunt  us  up  again." 

"The  Ingenieur!    What  has  he  to  do  with  this?" 

Harry  turned  on  me. 

"He  was  there  in  the  wedding  party.  Were  you 
not  staring  at  him?" 

"The  Ingenieur  there !  Great  Scott !  I  didn't  even 
see  him !" 

"Why  were  you  staring  so  then  with  your  eyes 
hanging  out  on  your  cheeks,  and  a  mouth  open  like  a 
pumpkin  face?  Do  you  know  that  I  saved  you 
from  a  dip?" 

But  I  couldn't  mention  the  sweet  face  I  had  seen, 
to  Harry,  just  yet.  Of  course,  he  would  have  to 
know  about  her  because  I  had  made  up  my  mind  I 
would  see  her  once  more,  at  least.  But  I  needed 
a  little  time  to  collect  my  scattered  wits  before  I 
would  feel  prepared  to  endure  Harry's  gibes. 

The  Ingenieur !  What  was  he  doing  there  ?  Had 
he  been  with  the  girl?  I  was  both  glad  and  sorry 
I  had  not  seen  him;  I  was  consumed  with  envy — 
already  filled  with  jealousy  that  he  should  know 
her,  as  must  be  the  case.  Was  she  one  of  his  "fair 
17 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ones  who  lived  farther  up  the  gulf?"  The  thought 
was  like  vitriol  poured  upon  a  fresh  wound. 

I  had  planned  not  to  mention  her  until  we  should 
be  calmly  installed  at  a  table  in  the  cool  coffee 
house  we  had  visited  the  previous  evening  on  the 
Riva,  but  it  was  very  difficult  to  keep  silence.  I 
wondered  if  Harry  had  noticed  her.  Perhaps  he 
had  and  was  now  thinking  the  same  things  I  was. 
This  also  was  maddening.  I  ventured  a  question. 

"Did  you  notice  that  lovely  girl  in  the  bridal 
party?  With  the  older  couple,  just  behind  the 
groom  ?" 

"I  do  not  specially  remember  any  one  of  them," 
he  answered  indifferently.  "There  were  several 
beautiful  women  in  that  party.  The  bride  herself 
was  no  slouch.  Why!  Where  you  staring  at  some 
of  those  ladies  in  that  way?  This  is  worse  yet! 
If  you  continue  to  do  that  sort  of  thing  among 
these  people  I  can  see  your  finish.  A  dark  night — 
and  a  prone  figure  with  a  small  but  effective  three- 
cornered  hole  in  its  back !" 

"Dramatic  description  was  never  your  strong 
point,  Harry.  You  become  trite  at  once.  Stick  to 
gibing." 

"And  all  because  of  some  little  skirted  dago  with 
just  a  pair  of  eyes  and  a  pair  of  ideas  in  her  head !" 

I  did  not  mind  this  particularly.  If  Harry  had 
seen  her  he  could  never  have  characterized  her  thus. 
I  saw  that  the  coast  was  clear  as  far  as  my  friend 
was  concerned,  and  found  some  comfort  in  the  fact. 

After  a  jolly  row  with  our  boatmen  in  which 
Harry  won  by  a  good  length  we  proceeded  to  in- 
stall ourselves  at  a  table  in  the  garden  of  the  Cafe 
Dojmi  in  the  midst  of  a  motley  company — Italians, 
Italo-Servians,  pure  Servians,  Montenegrins  (the 
latter  in  their  national  costumes  but  without  their 
18 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

arsenals  of  weapons,  since  they  are  obliged  to  give 
up  these  upon  entering  the  city  gates),  some  Turks, 
a  couple  of  Greeks,  an  Orthodox  Oriental  priest  in 
his  tall  cylindrical  hat,  and  a  sprinkling  of  Austrian 
soldiers  and  smart  officers,  the  latter  in  their  singu- 
lar military  chapeaus  the  real  "stove-pipe  hat," — 
and  all  doing  as  we  were, — discussing  black  coffee 
and  cognac  with  the  eternal  cigarette,  or  cold  meat, 
salami,  spiced  fish  and  bottled  beer. 

The  previous  evening  after  having  had  our  din- 
ner at  the  hotel  we  had  come  to  the  Dojmi  for 
awhile  and  had  found  a  waiter  who  had  been  in 
America  and  who  could  speak  English  tolerably.  At 
once  he  had  become  our  devoted  slave.  Tonight  I 
soon  spied  and  beckoned  him  over. 

"Enrico,  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  commission — 
something  to  do  for  me ;  but  it  is  very,  very  private, 
and  you  must  never  say  anything  about  it  to  any 
cne  now  or  hereafter.  If  you  succeed,  you  get  good 
pay." 

"Alia  right,  Dottor.  You  shalla  have  not  to  com- 
plain ofa  my  tongue." 

I  told  him  of  the  wedding  party  at  Dobrota,  ex- 
plained that  I  wanted  him  to  find  out  who  the 
bridal  couple  were  and  who  were  with  them,  and 
as  much  elese  as  he  could  without  attracting  notice. 
I  thought  best  not  to  mention  the  young  woman 
herself,  trusting  that  the  information  I  sought  would 
come  with  the  rest. 

Enrico  said  he  had  a  friend  in  Dobrota 
who  would  know  all  about  the  wedding,  and  that 
he  would  go  over  and  see  this  friend  early  in  the 
morning  before  his  duties  began.  If  I  would  come 
to  the  coffee-house  next  morning  he  would  tell  me 
what  he  was  able  to  learn. 

19 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"All  right,  Enrico.  But  remember  not  to  men- 
tion me  or  my  friend." 

"I  will  nota  forget." 

Harry  regarded  me  with  astonishment  during 
these  arrangements.  After  Enrico  had  gone  he 
stared  at  me  and  smoked  in  silence.  Finally  he 
said: 

"Is  it  so  bad  as  all  that?" 

"Oh,— I  guess  so." 

He  studied  me  awhile  again. 

"Well — well !  I  hardly  know  whether  to  laugh  in 
my  sleeve  or  in  your  face.  You  look  like  you  had 
grown  up,  Ed;  but  I  begin  to  have  my  doubts." 

"If  admiring  a  woman  is  a  sign  of  immaturity, 
Harry,  then  I  fear  the  world  is  filled  with" 

"Oh,  certainly;  but  well  people  are  not  like  this, 
my  son !  I  refuse  to  believe  that  you  have  fallen  in 
love  with  a  girl  of  another  nation  whom  you  have 
seen  just  once,  for  about  one-half  minute,  with  sev- 
eral yards  of  water  between  you !" 

"I  said  nothing  about  having  fallen  in  love." 

"Don't  get  nasty !    What  do  you  name  it,  then  ?" 

"I  don't  know  if  I  have  fallen  in  love.  But  I 
do  know  that  I  am  determined  to  see  that  girl  once 
more,  at  least,  let  it  cost  what  it  may,  or  take  what 
time  it  may!" 

"And  if  she  be  a  married  woman?" 

Devil  take  him,  this  was  worse  than  the  other 
thing  I  had  thought  of.  Married !  Her  air  of  dig- 
nity (and  I  supposed  the  certain  air  of  sadness 
mentioned  would  have  been  conclusive  with  Harry 
had  he  noticed  it)  lent  itself  somewhat  to  Harry's 
last  suggestion.  But — well,  I  could  only  wait  and 
see. 

"There — that's  better.  Just  now  you  were  look- 
ing quite  as  much  like  a  pirate  as  either  of  our 
20 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

rowers.  And  yet  you  tell  me  that  Cupid  and  you 
are  strangers !"  (I  wish  I  could  reproduce  Harry's 
tones !) 

"I  don't  believe  either  of  us  knows  much  about 
love,  Harry.  We  have  lived  too  selfishly  and" 

He  held  up  his  hand  and  answered  in  his  most 
disagreeable  style: 

"Now,  Eddie,  if  you  really  want  to  change  the 
subject,  just  say  so  and  it  goes.  But  don't  try  to 
lead  me  off  of  it  as  you  would  a  four-year-old  by 
talking  around  and  away  from  it." 

I  was  silent.  His  fresh  cigar  seemed  hard  to  light 
and  he  consumed  much  time  over  it.  He  seemed 
embarrassed  and  I  wondered,  for  I  had  never  no- 
ticed anything  of  the  kind  on  his  part  before.  It  is 
wonderful  how  much  trouble  a  cigar  is,  sometimes. 
In  fact  it  was  perfectly  clear  that  Harry  wanted 
to  say  something  to  me,  and  either  did  not  quite 
dare,  or  did  not  quite  like  to  do  it — again,  a  reve- 
lation! Finally  I  said: 

"Well,  spit  it  out,  old  man!" 

He  raised  his  head  and  observed  me  a  moment 
as  one  does  a  strange  wild  animal  or  a  peculiar  and 
incomprehensible  type  of  depravity.  Then  he 
threw  back  his  head  and  laughed  loud  and  long, 
until  everybody  in  the  place  was  looking  at  us  and 
grinning  in  sympathy. 

"A  long  acquaintance,  truly!  I  shan't  worry 
over  it.  See  her  again,  then!  Of  course  you  will 
be  disappointed  and  wonder  what  was  the  matter 
with  you.  There  will  be  something  the  matter  with 
her — there  is  always  something  the  matter  with  a 
woman.  We  shall  laugh  over  it  together  some 
day." 

I  was  in  turn  amused  at  his  seriousness — and  his 
speech. 

21 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Harry,  you  can  only  love  your  fiddle — a  thing 
made  of  wood  and  catgut." 

"You  forget  there  is  hair  in  the  bow,  my  boy. 
The  remaining  difference  is  merely  wood  versus 
flesh  and  is  in  favor  of  the  fiddle  I  think." 

"Well,  Harry,  isn't  there  always  something  the 
matter  with  a  man,  too?" 

"There  is  always  something  the  matter  with 
everything,"  he  doggedly  answered,  his  face  again 
overcast.  "We  have  been  fore-doomed  to  expect, 
and  be  disappointed — to  be  not  quite  able  to  reach 
any  ideal.  To  have  ever,  molasses  with  a  fly  in  it 
— a  lute  with  a  rift — a  flower  with  one  bad  petal — 
wine  with  leas.  Ed,  if  I  were  to  find  a  perfect 
thing,  I  could  never  believe  in  it  until  it  became  old 
and  worn  out,  and  I  should  be  still  hunting  some 
perfect  thing  to  take  its  place." 

Harry  seemed  blue,  but  I  did  not  understand 
him  well  enough,  yet,  to  meddle  with  his  mood — 
we  had  been  children  when  we  had  parted.  I  only 
ventured  to  give  my  opinion  that  sentient  beings, 
themselves  imperfect,  might  very  well  get  used  to 
and  become  satisfied  with  others  not  quite  perfect; 
that  I  was  not  expecting  perfection  in  the  woman  I 
was  now  admiring;  I  did  not  even  wish  her  to  be 
perfect.  For  the  matter  of  that,  Love  is  satisfied 
by  the  right  thing,  not  by  a  merely  perfect  thing  of 
its  kind. 

Harry  studied  me  curiously  as  I  stated  these 
views.  Finally  he  said: 

"I  honestly  believe  that  if  that  girl  were  suddenly 
to  appear  here,  and  be  willing,  you  would  marry  her 
instanter,  without  a  moment's  hesitation  or  in- 
quiry !" 

"I  don't  know,  Harry.     Perhaps  I  would." 

Again  he  stared  me  up  and  down,  the  while  sit- 
22 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ting  hunched  down  in  his  chair.    At  last  he  heaved 
a  sigh  and  seemed  to  give  me  up. 

"You're  either  too  shallow  or  too  deep  for  me! — 
Did  you  ever  hear  Caesar  Thompson  play  ?" 


CHAPTER  III 

AFTER  breakfast  the  following  morning  Harry 
started  for  Risano  and  left  me  to  myself  for  the 
day.  Needless  to  say  that  the  hour  appointed  found 
me  in  the  Dojmi. 

Enrico  joined  me  very  soon.  I  made  shift  to 
hide  my  impatience  and  told  him  to  bring  me  a 
whiskey  and  soda.  What  he  brought  was  surely 
not  whiskey,  but  that  is  a  detail. 

"Well,  Enrico,  did  you  find  out  anything?" 

"Oh,  yes.    Think  gotta  wat  you  want,  sir." 

He  soon  informed  me.  Young  Giovanni  Depolo 
who  lived  at  Donji  Stolivo,  had  been  married  on 
St.  John's  evening  to  Militza  Popovich,  who  had 
lived  at  Dobrota.  He  had  not  been  able  to  get  the 
names  of  all  who  were  there,  but  had  a  list  of  the 
immediate  wedding  party,  and  the  genuineness  of 
this  list  was  attested  by  the  fact  that  the  Inge- 
nieur's  name  was  there,  although  wrongly  spelled. 
The  Marko  Depolo  and  his  wife  on  his  list  were, 
probably  the  parents  of  the  groom, — also  the  bride's 
father  was  there. 

"Enrico,  why  do  so  many  of  these  names  end  in 
'i-c-h'?" 

"Most  all  Servian  names  enda  thata  way,  Dottor. 
It  is  ending  for  father's  name  for  right  sound." 

"A  phonetic  ending?" 

"Yes,  Dottor.  Jovo,  or  Jovani,  is  John; — thata 
fore-name.  Jovano-vich  is  John,  buta  family 
name." 

"Ah !    Who  is  Bojida  Gregovich?" 

"I  nota  know  him,  Dottor." 
24 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Here,  then,  was  one  married  couple  I  could  not 
yet  identify. 

"Who  of  these  others  do  you  know?" 

"Nota  many,  Dottor.  I  coma  back  to  Dalmatia 
five  year  ago,  but  I  been  in  Spalato  anda  Ragusa 
mostly.  1  coma  to  Cattaro  only  before  sixa  month. 
I  know  mos'  in  Cattaro,  but  I  nota  know  many  out- 
aside.  I  can  geta  my  friend  coma  down  from  Do- 
brota?" 

"We  will  try  without  him,  Enrico.  Tell  me  who 
of  these  you  do  know." 

He  went  over  them  one  by  one,  but  my  patience 
went  to  the  winds. 

"Enrico,  one  of  the  young  women  of  this  party 
was  beautiful — more  beautiful  than  I  can  describe. 
I  want  to  know  which  of  these  names  is  hers." 

He  thought  a  moment. 

"Marko  Depolo  live  at  Donji  Stolivo  and  thisa 
party  wen'  thata  way.  In  Perzagno,  nota  far  f'om 
Stolivo  (you  can  see  the  begin'  of  Perzagno  over 
there,"  and  he  pointed  across  the  gulf)  "in  Perza- 
zagno — a  beautiful  girl — about  her  talk  everybody. 
Famous  in  these  parts.  But  I  nota  remember  her 
name  now." 

"Well,  that  is  something,  anyway." 

I  felt  jubilant.  A  well  known  beauty  about  whom 
everyone  talked  and  "famous  in  these  parts."  That 
could  mean  no  other  than  the  girl  I  had  seen,  for 
although  Dalmatia  is  noted  for  its  beautiful  women, 
I  was  sure  there  could  be  no  two  such  as  this  one. 
And  her  name  would  be  here  among  those  of  the 
unmarried  girls.  This  was  progression,  and  satis- 
factory, too. 

"I  cana  take  thisa  list  and  aska  which  name  it  is, 
Dottor?" 

But  I  did  not  dare  risk  this.  She  was  a  single 
25 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

woman  and  well  known,  who  lived  in  Perzagno  and 
whose  name  was  among  the  others  of  this  list.  I 
decided  I  would  try  to  determine  for  myself  which 
of  the  names  was  hers. 

It  was  a  warm  walk  out  to  and  through  the  mili- 
tary park,  but  finally  I  reached  the  northwest  ex- 
tremity and  on  a  narrow  wooded  point  which  jutted 
far  out  into  the  water,  I  found  a  comfortable  bench. 
A  troop  of  infantrymen  was  playing  water  foot-  (or, 
rather,  hand-)  ball,  and  the  pigskin  was  bounding 
from  one  sun-baked  bather  to  another.  Still  an- 
other party  was  practising  swimming  in  uniforms 
and  accoutrements ;  but  all  were  too  far  away  from 
the  lonely  point  to  disturb  me.  Not  far  away  a 
pretty  girl  was  loitering  about,  evidently  expecting 
to  meet  her  swain,  but  she  couldn't  interest  me  now. 
I  took  out  Enrico's  list  and  spread  it  upon  my  knee. 
Taking  a  leaf  from  my  note  book  I  proceeded  to 
write  upon  it  the  names  of  the  unmarried  women 
of  the  bridal  party. 

Amal'ya  Sbut'ega, 

Antoniet'ta  Coloric'io, 

Elvi'ra  Su'jich, 

Adelaid'e  Dab'kovich, 

Stanit'za  Dab'kovich, 

Lubit'za  Toman'oyich, 

Gizel'a*  Tomanovich, 

Milit'za  Milat'ovich. 
Eight  in  all,  of  which  two  pairs  must  be  sisters. 

Having  written  them  separately,  I  began  to  try 
to  pick  her  out. 

I  felt  sure  that  she  was  pure  Italian,  for  as  far 
as  I  could  remember,  her  face  showed  nothing  of 


*  Here  the  name  Gisela  is  spelled  with  a  z  for  the  sake 
of  pronunciation ;  hereafter  with  an  s. 

26 


The    Accursed    R 


0   C  C  0  S 


the  Servian  type  (also  often  very  beautiful)  which 
I  was  beginning  to  be  able  to  recognize.  For  this 
reason  I  first  inclined  to  one  or  other  of  the  first 
two  names,  which  were,  or  seemed  to  be,  Italian. 
Then  I  remembered  to  have  heard  the  names  of  one 
or  two  here  who  were  clearly  Italian  but  whose 
names  had  had  the  characteristic  Servian  terminal. 
Could  she  belong  to  one  of  the  pairs  of  sisters?  I 
remembered  no  other  girl  in  the  party  who  had  even 
remotely  resembled  her,  but  that  argued  nothing. 
Sisters  are  often  dissimilar,  and  once  having  seen 
her  I  had  had  eyes  for  no  other. 

As  both  their  given  names  and  patronymics  were 
so  clearly  Servian  I  decided  to  exclude  Stanitza  and 
Militza.    That  left  six.  Sujich  could  not  be  a  mixed 
patronymic,  so  I  excluded  Elvira.     As  I  had  cut 
out  Stanitza,  so  I  must  put  by  Adelaide,  her  sister. 
That  left  practically  three  names,  as  the  last  two, 
being  sisters,  could  be  regarded  as  one. 
Amalia  Sbutega, 
Antonietta  Coloricio, 
Lubitza  and  Gisela  Tomanovich. 
Surely  "she"  was  one  of  these. 

I  dreamed  over  this  list  for  some  time.  I  was 
tempted  to  ask  help  of  the  pretty  girl  wandering 
about  behind  me,  but  remembered  in  time  that 
Cattaro  is  a  small  place  where  every  regular  resid- 
dent,  at  least,  would  know  everybody  else  on  the 
gulfs.  Not  that  I  cared  a  rap  on  my  own  account, 
of  course,  but  I  did  not  wish  to  make  a  bad  start 
by  having  my  search  become  the  subject  of  gossip 
and  laughter. 

A  chance  memory  helped  me  to  exclude  Amalia. 

I  remembered  that  on  the  book  accompanying  my 

letter  of  credit,  Sbutega  was  the  banker  named  for 

Cattaro.    The  bridal  party  had  certainly  been  com- 

27 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

posed  of  at  least  well-to-do  people,  and  while  there 
might  be  other  Sbutegas  round  about  the  gulfs 
there  was  probably  not  another  wealthy  Sbutega. 
Amalia  had  probably  crossed  the  lake  and  stayed 
with  friends  that  night.  Had  the  banker's  daughter 
been  my  beauty  Enrico  would  have  known  her 
name. 

The  riddle  was  now  reduced  to  the  lowest  terms. 
I  now  had  merely  to  ask  if  the  prettiest  girl  on  the 
gulfs  had  a  sister.  But,  in  very  sight  of  her  town 
and  perhaps  of  the  very  house  in  which  she  lived, 
it  was  hard  to  have  to  wait  for  an  opportunity  to 
ask,  and  something  or  other  away  back  in  my  mind 
made  we  wish  to  avoid  even  that.  A  kind  premoni- 
tion sometimes  protects  us,  just  in  this  way. 

Antonietta — Lubitza — Gisela.  Gisela,  some  say, 
is  derived  from  a  Turkish  word  and  is  a  not  infre- 
quent given  name  in  Vienna.  There  is  a  Gisela 
street  there.  It  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  Emperor's 
daughters.  It  would  be  a  supremely  fitting  name  for 
my  new  divinity,  as  it  means  "beautiful,"  but  I 
believed  that  her  patronymic  could  not  be  "Tomano- 
vich."  Was  my  divinity,  then,  Antonietta? 

I  gazed  across  at  Perzagno,  whose  long  water- 
line  began  just  in  sight  and  immediately  disap- 
peared around  a  bold  projecting  point  far  across 
the  shimmering  gulf.  Antonietta?  Somehow  the 
name  did  not  seem  to  fit  her,  for  she  was  not  a 
small  woman,  my  divinity,  and  I  could  not  think  of 
her  by  this  name.  Antonietta  ought  to  belong  to  a 
little  saucy  feminine  imp;  not  to  a  stately  woman. 
Still,  girls  generally  receive  their  names  while  still 
too  young  to  go  into  society  and  mistakes  are  some- 
times made.  Antonietta!  Of  itself  the  name  is 
pretty,  but  I  hoped  it  was  not  the  one. 

It  was  geting  too  hot,  so  I  rose  and  retraced  my 
28 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

steps  to  the  coffee  house.  Enrico  saw  me  and  came 
at  once.    We  were  almost  alone  in  the  place  at  this 
hour.    I  decided  to  risk  another  question  or  two. 
•  "Enrico,  you  know  that  this  matter  I  have  talked 
of  is  very  private?" 

"Dottor,  bya  the  Virgin  I  will  neva  spik  it  to 
anybody !" 

"All  right.  Do  you  know  anybody  here  by  the 
name  of  Coloricio?" 

"No,  Dottor." 

"Do  you  know  anybody  named  Tomanovich?" 

"I  nota  remember  thisa  name,  Dottor." 

"Ask  one  of  the  waiters  who  has  been  here  longer 
if  he  knows  either  of  these  names,  but  don't  mention 
me  and  don't  ask  another  thing.  Wait  a  few  min- 
utes after  leaving  me  before  you  ask." 

Enrico  was  intelligent.  He  dusted  tables  and  set 
chairs  to  rights.  He  went  to  the  gate  and  had  a 
wordy  argument  with  a  hack-man  about  to  start  for 
Cettinje.  He  flirted  with  two  or  three  maids  on  the 
Riva.  Indeed,  he  did  it  so  well  that  I  began  to 
think  he  had  forgotten  his  errand.  Finally  he  saun- 
tered into  the  coffee  house  itself,  lazily  swinging  his 
towel.  After  a  long  time  he  reappeared  and  joined 
me. 

"I  have  found.  Coloricio  live  in  Stolivo,  and 
Tomanovich  in  Perzagno.  We  nota  know  Coloricio 
much.  Tomanovich,  he  richa  man — have  wine 
vineyards." 

"Enrico,  do  you  know  these  names  ?  Think  well" 
— I  showed  the  two : 

Lubitza  Tomanovich, 
Gisela  Tomanovich. 

"Could  either  of  these  be  the  famous  beauty  you 
spoke  of  who  lives  in  Perzango?" 

He  studied  them  with  knit  brows. 
29 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Yes,  Dottor,  I  think  Gisela  the  fronta  name — 
but  she  nota  Gisela  Tomanovich; — thata  sure!" 

"Would  you  know  the  name  if  you  heard  it?" 

"I  think  so." 

"Are  you  sure  your  friend  got  all  the  names  of 
the  wedding  party?" 

"He  say  so,  Dottor." 

I  longed  for  the  Ingenieur. 

"Look  here,  Enrico.  Here  is  a  name  your  friend 
got  wrong.  He  is  named  Overmann; — not  Luver- 
mann.  Do  you  know  him?" 

Enrico  clapped  his  hands  to  his  head  and  what  he 
said  sounded  much  like  cursing;  but  it  was  in 
Italian. 

"Cut  it,  Enrico !  You  will  attract  attention.  What 
is  the  matter?" 

"Oh,  Dottor,  jesta  wait  until  I  geta  that  friend 
of  mine !  I'll" 

"Never  mind,  Enrico !  He  did  the  best  he  could 
and  he  has  done  well,  too.  Do  you  know  the  Inge- 
nieur?" 

"Sure.  He  often  here.  He  goin'  marry  with 
Lubitza  Tomanovich — thisa  name  here." 

In  another  instant,  clear  as  a  bell,  the  riddle  was 
solved.  The  mention  of  the  Ingenieur's  prospective 
marriage  to  the  wine  grower's  daughter  was  the 
needed  link.  So  this  lovely  girl  was  the  one  of 
which  the  priest  at  Perasto  had  told  us!  Descen- 
dant of  the  "Accursed  Roccos"  and  of  the  crabbed 
old  sister  who  had  lived  in  the  queer  old  house  in 
Perzagno  and  whose  cousin,  daughter  of  the  vine- 
yard owner,  was  to  marry  an  Austrian  officer! 
She  would  be  Gisela  Portulan  then — not  Gisela 
Tomanovich.  Possibly  she  was  sometimes  called 
Tomanovich,  since  she  resided  in  her  uncle's  home, 
and  this  would  explain  Enrico's  friend's  mistake 
30 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

in  making  up  his  list.  True,  the  old  priest  had 
not  mentioned  her  beauty,  but  priests,  I  supposed, 
were  not  given  to  commenting  upon  such  a  point. 
I  wrote  the  corrected  name  and  showed  it  to 
Enrico. 

"Is  this  the  name  I  am  searching  for?" 

"Yes !  Yes,  Dottor,  thata  it !" 

It  had  been  a  good  morning's  work.  I  had  iden- 
tified her  without  confiding  in  anybody  but  Enrico, 
and  I  believed  he  would  remain  faithful.  And  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  he  did. 

It  would  be  easy  to  learn  all  about  her  now,  for 
now  I  could  ask  about  her  as  some  one  I  knew  by 
reputation,  as  everybody  else  .did,  and  I  needed  but 
ask  the  more  intelligent  acquaintances  I  might  meet. 
Already  I  knew  what  she  was.  Of  the  old  Vene- 
tian blood — one  of  the  few  purer  survivors  of  that 
stock  to  be  found  on  the  gulfs, — and  descended 
from  the  Secretariat.  I  would  have  a  surprise  for 
Harry  when  he  got  back  that  evening.  "Little 
dago  with  a  pair  of  eyes  and  a  pair  of  ideas"  in- 
deed !  I  would  have  no  mercy  on  Harry.  This 
would  make  him  squirm,  for  he  loved  "family" 
and  "good  blood'  and  "mediaeval  connections,"  and 
talked  more  than  most  men  of  such  things.  I  de- 
termined that  I  would  never  let  him  forget  that 
phrase.  So  I  made  my  way  to  luncheon  in  good 
spirits,  the  same  being  duly  tempered  by  uncertainty 
as  to  the  future,  and  with  the  name  "Gisela"  ring- 
ing in  my  ears. 

The  history  of  the  Krivosjie,  country  of  the  peo- 
ple so  insubordinate  to  the  Austrian  government, 
had  interested  Harry  greatly,  and  I  knew  that  his 
plan  was,  if  he  could  get  a  satisfactory  horse  at 
Risano,  to  make  a  visit  into  that  karst  region.  Thus 
31 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

he  might  be  back  that  evening,  but  I  scarcely  ex- 
pected him.  On  my  side,  I  determined  to  visit 
Perzagno  after  the  heat  of  the  afternoon  had 
passed.  I  did  not  expect  to  further  my  quest  by 
this,  but  I  wished  to  see  the  long  strung  out  old  city 
once  so  opulent  through  Venetian  trade,  and  pos- 
sessing so  many  relics  of  those  richer  days.  Also 
I  wanted  to  see  the  triple  house  of  the  three  sisters. 

So  about  half  past  four  found  me  being  rowed 
along  the  shore  of  the  Gulf  opposite  the  town  of 
Cattaro,  almost  forgetful  of  all  else  in  the  wild 
beauty  of  the  locality,  which  was  unfolding  itself 
into  a  new  aspect  every  moment.  Away  behind  us, 
down  in  the  southernmost  angle  of  the  gulf  lay 
picturesque  Cattaro  (the  old  Roman  Ascrivium), 
like  a  jewel  in  a  setting,  the  latter  being  a  lofty 
outlying  bastion  of  the  Lovgen,  up  which  straggled 
the  zig-zag  walls,  continuations  of  the  fortifica- 
tions, which  included  in  their  area  the  high-lying 
chapel  of  the  Madonna  della  Salute,  and  also  on 
the  very  peak  of  the  rocky  bastion,  the  ancient  cita- 
del. With  my  field-glases  I  could  make  out  the 
great  rock  on  the  mountain  side,  off  to  the  left, 
iron  strapped  to  the  rocky  table  to  guard  against  its 
possible  fall  into  the  town  below.  Further  south- 
ward the  Lovgen  itself  reared  its  height.  The 
serpentine  road  into  Montenegro  looked,  at  this 
distance,  like  a  series  of  zig-zag  pen-scratches  up 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  whose  bleak  gray-black 
mass  gives  both  the  name  to  the  country  of  the 
Montenegrins,  and  the  promise  of  the  forbidding 
land  which  the  traveler  will  find  there. 

The    afternoon    had    cooled    pleasantly    by    the 

time  our  barque  was   passing  the   lower   end   of 

Perzagno.     By  and  bye  we  came  to  the  house — Le 

Tre  Sorelle.     I  did  not  need  the  exclamation  and 

32 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

pointing  finger  of  my  boatman,  for  I  knew  it  in- 
stantly; it  could  only  be  this  one,  and  no  other. 
An  old  weather-worn  time-stained  ruin,  separated 
from  the  water  only  by  the  inevitable  rock-piers 
and  the  road  which  followed  the  shores.  Three 
gables  fronted  on  the  gulf  and  ran  from  front  to 
back.  The  ground  floor  gateway  of  the  middle  di- 
vision was  still  usable  and  furnished  with  a  heavy 
wooden  door — those  on  the  sides  had  been  walled 
up.  Over  each  gate  was  a  window  in  which  had 
once  been  iron  bars.  In  the  second  floor  of  each 
was  a  fair-sized  once  ornate  window  on  the  gulf. 
One  was  still  open,  one  was  walled  up,  and  the  third 
was  closed .  partly  by  stones,  and  partly  by  some 
sort  of  a  tablet  bearing  an  inscription  no  longer 
wholly  legible.  Tiny  windows  in  the  third  floor 
under  the  gable  ends  were  still  open.  These  last 
had  probably  furnished  light  to  "witches'  kitchens," 
for  in  those  old  days  in  this  warm  land  this  homely 
but  necessary  office  was  generally  located  just  un- 
der the  roof.  On  the  north  side  was  a  small  wing 
with  a  plain  sloping  roof — this  wing  being  of  less 
height  than  the  rest  of  the  house,  and  seemingly 
a  later  addition,  since  its  masonry  was  different. 
In  the  middle  of  the  front  of  the  house  were  the  re- 
mains of  a  more  or  less  ornate  Venetian  balcony. 
The  roofs  of  the  gables  were  still  intact,  but  that  of 
the  wing  was  gone.  Behind  the  house  was  a  stairway 
and  portico  of  stone  by  which  the  second  floor  could 
be  reached  directly.  The  whole  stood  in  a  sort  of 
areaway  formed  by  stone  walls  abutting  against 
the  hillside  behind. 

A  queer  monument  indeed  to  a  father's  despair 
over  three  vixen  daughters,  to  remain  after  all  these 
years  to  tell  the  right  sad  tale!  I  wondered  in 
which  division  old  Albina  Portulan  herself  had 

33 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

lived.  Probably  she  had  occupied  all  of  them  af- 
ter Providence  had  relieved  her  of  her  other  sis- 
ters. 

I  was  keen  to  explore  the  interior — the  ground 
floor  gate  stood  open  to  any  comer — but  I  did  not 
dare.  I  would  not  have  met  Gisela  under  such 
circumstances  for  the  world.  Of  course  this  house 
must  be  situated  upon  old  Tomanovich's  property 
and  Gisela  might  even  now  be  within  sight  or  hear- 
ing somewhere — with  which  thought  I  am  quite 
sure  I  stood  a  little  straighter  and  smoothed  out 
my  clothes. 

The  ruin  exerted  an  almost  unholy  fascination, 
as  I  stood  in  the  white  roadway  and  dreamed  over 
it.  Its  fagade  seemed  sentient  and  to  exhibit  some- 
thing of  the  passing  shades  of  a  living  face.  Grim, 
gaunt  and  frowning,  it  yet  seemed  to  invite  en- 
trance and  nearer  acquaintance,  then  and  there, 
and  it  was  only  by  a  real  effort  that  I  finally  turned 
away  and  wandered  eastward  along  the  ancient 
town. 

By  the  time  I  had  made  the  round  it  was  getting 
late  and  I  had  wandered  rather  far  from  my  barque, 
so  I  began  my  return  trip  along  the  fine  but  nar- 
row military  road  which  skirts  the  gulf. 

In  coming  over  to  Perzagno  that  afternoon  I 
had  rather  risked  than  desired  any  chance  meet- 
ing with  Gisela,  for  it  would  be  neither  a  favorable 
time  nor  place.  I  conceived  that  I  was  bound  to 
find  some  formal  way  to  her  acquaintance,  either 
in  the  local  military  staff  or  among  the  influential 
residents.  But  such  a  method  would  consume  many 
days  before  our  ultimate  meeting.  I  wished  there 
were  a  shorter  way. 

I  was  occupied  with  these  thoughts  when  I 
rounded  a  winding  of  the  road  where  the  gulf 
34 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

jutted  into  the  land,  forming  a  little  round  bay, 
the  curve  of  which  was  followed  by  the  road.  On 
the  opposite  end  of  this  curve  I  saw  two  figures 
coming  along  with  bent  heads,  seemingly  in  ear- 
nest conversation.  The  man's  figure  looked  fa- 
miliar and  I  unslung  my  glasses  and  brought  them 
to  bear  upon  him. 

It  was  the  Ingenieur.  His  companion  was  a 
pretty  woman,  just  a  trifle  short,  but  still  of  fine 
figure — a  brunette,  with  as  nearly  as  I  could  tell, 
rather  a  Servian  than  Italian  cast  of  countenance. 
She  was  speaking  seriously  and  the  Ingenieur  was 
listening  intently  to  what  she  was  saying. 

What  should  I  do?  It  would  have  been  easy 
enough  to  avoid  them.  I  had  only  to  step  back  be- 
tween two  houses  into  one  of  the  wooded  gardens? 
which  lay  just  behind  nearly  every  one,  and  wait 
there  until  they  had  passed.  I  started  to  do  this, 
but  reconsidered.  After  all,  perhaps  the  Ingenieur 
had  not  meant  to  "shake"  us — except,  perhaps,  for 
that  evening  only.  It  had  only  been  day  before 
yesterday,  and  perhaps  he  had  been  too  much  occu- 
pied to  hunt  us  up  in  the  meantime.  Besides,  why 
should  he  expect  us  to  avoid  meeting  him?  He 
knew  we  were  here,  and  must  realize,  if  he  thought 
of  it  at  all,  that  such  a  chance  was  not  among  the 
impossibilities.  Added  to  this,  he  was  the  very 
man  to  help  me.  He  was  to  marry  Gisela's  cousin. 
I  would  cheerfully  satisfy  his  most  exacting  de- 
mands regarding  my  credentials.  I  decided  to  let 
him  see  me  and  allow  him  to  address  me  first  if 
he  were  so  disposed. 

I  drew  from  a  pocket  a  local  map  with  which  I 
could  pretend  to  be  occupied  and  seated  myself 
upon  a  stone  on  one  of  the  piers  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  road. 

35 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

After  some  time  they  drew  near.  I  knew  they 
had  seen  me  for  they  had  ceased  to  converse.  As 
they  were  nearly  opposite  I  looked  up.  The  Ingenieur 
kept  his  eyes  resolutely  along  the  road  and  she  hers 
upon  the  ground.  It  was  the  cut  direct. 

If  there  had  been  any  doubt  in  my  mind  it  was 
dispelled  the  next  moment,  for  after  they  had  gone 
some  way,  I  injudiciously  turned  my  head  and 
looked  after  them.  The  Ingenieur  still  kept  his 
face  to  the  front,  but  she  had  turned  her  head 
and  was  observing  me  as  I  looked  up.  We  both 
turned  away  again  at  the  same  instant,  and  I 
folded  my  map  and  started  on. 

I  was  angry.  He  might  have  spoken  to  me,  I 
thought.  True,  in  electing  not  to  do  so,  he  had  only 
exercised  a  personal  right.  We  had  been  but 
slightly  acquainted  in  Vienna,  since  then  only  trav- 
eling companions  without  obligation  on  either  side. 
Having  now  a  woman  companion  he  had  only  ex- 
ercised the  Code — albeit  rather  severely.  But, 
since  he  exercised  the  Code  thus,  I  resolved  that 
I  would  be  the  one  to  apply  it  when  next  we  met. 

But  the  worst  of  it  was  the  certainty  that  from 
now  on  the  Ingenieur  would  be  a  stumbling-block 
in  my  path.  That  way  to  Gisela's  acquaintance 
was  worse  than  closed.  Therefore  I  determined 
to  write  that  very  evening  to  Count  Albert  Weyer- 
Reinbach  and  to  Major  Scarlatti,  for  letters. 

Contrary  to  my  expectations,  I  found  upon  arriv- 
ing at  the  hotel  that  Harry  had  returned,  having 
been  unable  to  make  proper  arrangements  for  his 
excursion  into  the  Krivosije.  I  hastily  swallowed 
my  dinner  and  repaired  to  our  regular  trysting- 
place  in  the  Dojmi. 

He  was  enthusiastic  over  his  day  and  rambled 
on  over  it  in  talk  for  nearly  an  hour,  during  which 
36 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  managed  between  fires  to  write  the  two  letters. 
The  latter  finally  attracted  his  attention. 

"Writing  home?" 

"No,  to  Vienna  for  letters  of  introduction." 

"Well,  well.  Not  cooled  off  yet?  I  supposed 
you  would  be  more  reasonable  by  now.  Have  you 
found  out  anything?" 

"Yes,  a  good  deal.  The  little  dago  with  two  eyes 
and  two  ideas  is  simply  Gisela  Portulan,  the  de- 
scendant of  the  Roccos  and  of  the  sisters  of  Le  Tre 
Sorelle  whom  the  priest  at  Perasto  told  us  about." 

He  whistled.  "The  Accursed  Roccos !"  he  mut- 
tered. I  pretended  not  to  hear  this. 

"Moreover,  I  am  not  alone  in  admiring  her.  It 
seems  she  is  well  known  all  over  the  gulfs  for  her 
beauty." 

"So  much  the  worse!" 

"How  so?" 

Harry  turned  on  me,  more  earnestly  than  was 
his  wont.  The  embarrassment  of  a  former  occa- 
sion returned,  but  passed  as  he  proceeded: 

"Ed,  when  we  were  small  boys  we  used  to  fight; 
but  I  don't  remember  liking  you  any  the  less  for 
that.  And  now  in  the  few  days  we  have  been  to- 
gether, I  have  come  to  like  you  as  much  as  I  am 
ever  likely  to  any  other  man  than  myself"  (we 
shook  hands  cordially  and  I  answered,  "Returned 
with  compound  interest,  old  boy!"),  "but,  Ed,  I  tell 
you  again  I  know  these  people  better  than  you  do, 
because  I  have  been  in  Europe  eight  or  nine  times 
as  long  as  you  have,  and  besides,  in  my  situation, 
I  have  more  time  and  opportunity  to  learn  to  know 
Europeans  in  general  and  Italians  in  particular  than 
you  do  in  your  busy  clinical  life.  You  know  their 
bodies  better  than  I,  and  can  name  their  muscles  and 
nerves  from  top-knot  to  great  toe"  ("softly — softly, 
37 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Harry!"  I  murmured),  "but  I  know  their  minds 
better.  Compared  to  Anglo-Saxons,  the  people  of 
the  Continent  are  a  false  lot,  Ed.  They  sometimes 
have  a  plating  of  sincerity,  but  you  have  only  to 
scratch  it  to  find  the  bad  metal  underneath.  Honor 
and  fair  play  are  known  to  them  as  mere  tools  to 
use  when  it  will  save  time  or  serve  them  best;  that 
is,  as  means,  but  never  as  principles.  This  is  true 
of  all  of  the  great  class  we  come  in  contact  with, 
Ed,  and  the  exceptions  are  too  rare  to  be  worth  dis- 
cussing. Sojourning  Americans  who  come  over  here 
for  two  or  three  months  in  the  summer  season  and 
find  everybody  they  come  in  contact  with  bowing 
and  scraping  in  the  hope  of  a  stray  centime,  get 
drunk  on  this  cheap  flattery  and  always  forget  to 
look  at  the  real  European ;  never  get  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  thin  veneer  of  obsequiousness.  Those 
of  better  observation  are  seldom  in  Europe  long 
enough,  or  in  any  one  place  long  enough  to  analyze 
the  people  they  find  here,  and  nine  times  out  of  ten 
go  home  with  the  notion  that  these  people  are  like 
ourselves,  but  more  courteous  and  self-sacrificing. 
Nothing  could  be  more  false!  Here  they  taunt  us 
Americans  with  being  a  money-grubbing  nation ! 
But  there  are  a  thousand  things  which  the  Euro- 
pean will  do  for  money,  which  the  Anglo-Saxon 
will  not  consider  for  any  purpose;  a  thousand 
metres  of  depravity  into  which  he  will  descend,  in- 
to which  the  native-born  American  will  not  even 
look!  And  of  all  their  faults,  the  gravest  one  is 
their  falseness — man,  woman  and  child!  And  of 
all  Europeans  the  Italian  is  the  falsest.  Even  in 
your  own  Austria  there  is  a  proverb  'False  as  an 
Italian.'  You  must  have  heard  it  often." 

I  grew  warm,  but  Harry  was  meaning  well  by 
me,  at  least,  so  I  forgave  him.    I  answered : 
38 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Yes,  I  have  heard  the  saying  often  enough  in 
Vienna,  but  there  they  curse  and  sneer  at  every- 
thing that  is  not  Viennese,  although  still  Austrian. 
It  is  one  of  the  very  things  which  show  how  pro- 
vincial a  city  Vienna  is.  They  sneer  at  every- 
body; poke  fun  at  the  Bohemians,  call  the  Poles 
barbarians ;  call  the  Roumanians  and  Italians  false, 
and  curse  the  Magyar  because  he  sticks  to  his  own 
nationalism,  and  refuses  to  become  a  lick-spittle  of 
the  Monarchy.  But  there  is  no  use  arguing  this, 
Harry.  We  simply  do  not  agree,  and  can't  agree. 
Besides,  these  people  here  are  Dalmatians,  and  I 
have  never  heard  the  Dalmatians  called  false — not 
even  in  Vienna." 

"These  people  here  in  southern  Dalmatia  are 
Servo-Italian.  The  Servian  is  a  decadent  nation 
and  the  Italian  is  false,  Ed!" 

"I  do  not  believe  that  all  Italians  are  false  or 
that  all  Servians  are  decadent.  I  tell  you  again  that 
Dalmatians  have  a  good  name — even  in  Vienna." 

"I  know  what  I  am  talking  about,  Ed !  What  the 
Italian  is  in  Italy  he  is  here.  This  thing  means  you 
no  good.  You  are  in  for  trouble  at  one  end  or  other 
of  the  line.  If  you  meet,  win  and  marry  this  girl 
without  getting  a  stiletto  in  your  back  in  the  pro- 
cess, you  will  have  your  troubles  later.  Remember, 
Ed,  the  American  woman  has  her  liberty  before 
marriage,  the  European  woman  takes  it  afterward." 

"Let  us  talk  no  more  of  this,  Harry!" 

"As  you  will.  I  mean  you  well — and  I  know 
what  I  am  saying.  You  can  never  say  you  went 
your  way  blindly !" 

"No,  I  can  never  say  that.  But  the  matter  is  still 
far  off,  and  to-day  seems  farther  away  than  ever." 

With  this,  I  proceeded  to  relate  the  result  of  my 
meeting  with  the  Ingenieur. 

39 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

He  whistled  again. 

"Well !  That  was  the  behavior  of  a  puppy !  He 
could  have  saluted  you  without  stopping!" 

"Truly !" 

"Also  that  puts  a  block  under  your  wheel.  If 
he  is  to  marry  the  cousin  of  this  girl  and  has  cut 
you  upon  first  running  across  you  here,  he  certainly 
will  prevent  your  meeting  his  prospective  wife's 
cousin.  Now  the  worst  that  can  happen  is  that  you 
will  waste  valuable  time  instead  of  seeing  this 
interesting  locality." 

"We  shall  see!" 

"Come,  Ed,  give  it  up  and  go  with  me  into 
Montenegro.  Then  we  will  go  slowly  northward 
together.  Ragusa  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most 
romantically  fascinating  spots  in  the  world,  and  at 
Spalato  are  the  remains  of  the  great  palace  Dio- 
cletian built  after  abdicating,  and  in  which  he  spent 
his  last  years.  We  can  visit  Salona  and  its  inter- 
esting Roman  and  Early  Christian  remains,  and 
some  of  the  islands  of  the  coast.  They  say  that 
Zara  contains  the  most  beautiful  women  in  the 
world,  and  that  they  are  pure  Italian — since  Italians 
seem  to  attract  you.  This  girl  here  will  be  like  one 
of  the  oranges  on  that  tree  which  grows  in  the 
midst  of  that  inaccessible  grotto  up  yonder.  You 
can  watch  them  growing  there,  but  you  cannot  get 
one.  Let's  go  to  Montenegro  to-morrow  morning." 

If  Harry  did  not  convince  me,  he  was  certainly 
a  revelation.  I  had  never  known  him!  He  actu- 
ally had  a  tremble  in  his  voice,  and  gripped  my 
hand  and  held  it.  I  wrung  his  paw,  and  although 
there  were  no  words  about  it,  there  was  sealed, 
then  and  there,  a  warm  and  deep  friendship  which 
has  endured  through  many  years  and  many  vicis- 
situdes, to  this  day. 

40 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  acquiesced  so  far  that  the  Montenegro  jour- 
ney should  be  set  for  the  morrow.  Until  my  let- 
ters should  arrive  that  was  as  good  a  way  of  mark- 
ing time  as  any  other.  Moreover,  a  happy  thought 
had  visited  me,  and  this  was  only  Wednesday  with 
Sunday  still  four  days  away. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"I  REPEAT  again,  Ed,  you  are  engaged  in  a  dan- 
gerous enterprise." 

We  were  bowling  down  the  great  serpentine 
from  Montenegro.  We  had  had  two  interesting 
days  at  Cettinje,  had  visited  Lake  Scutari  and  some 
other  spots  and  were  now  returning  to  Cattaro. 
Harry's  remark  did  not  refer  directly  to  my  love 
affair  but  to  an  offshoot  of  it. 

Among  other  democratic  features  of  Cettinje  is 
the  prison.  It  is  a  small,  low  building,  in  the  center 
of  the  town,  located  within  an  inclosure  surrounded 
by  a  common  fence  which  any  schoolboy  can  leap. 
The  prisoners  are  allowed  to  go  into  this  inclosure 
by  day  without  distinction  as  to  the  offence  for 
which  they  are  confined,  except  those  convicted  of 
homicide  in  which  case  the  right  ankle  and  wrist 
are  left  connected  by  a  short  heavy  chain.  Guards 
there  are,  but  they  are  lenient  and  jovial,  and  the 
inmates  may  converse  with  persons  outside  of  the 
fence,  provided  the  prisoner  do  not  approach  the 
fence  too  closely  and  the  conversation  be  not  too 
long. 

Harry  found  this  of  interest,  as  several  of  the 
prisoners  spoke  Italian  and  in  like  manner  I  found 
one  who  spoke  German.  After  a  time  as  we  were 
about  to  leave  I  observed  a  contortion  of  counte- 
nance on  the  part  of  the  one  with  whom  I  had  been 
conversing,  who,  at  this  time  (he  was  not  a 
chained  prisoner,  and  was  therefore  less  closely 
watched  by  the  guards)  was  standing  a  little  apart 
from  the  others. 

42 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  moved  a  step  or  two  toward  him  in  order  to  be 
out  of  the  guard's  hearing.  The  latter,  because  I 
was  a  mere  foreign  tourist  and  possibly  also  for 
deeper  reasons,  did  not  seem  disposed  to  notice 
us.  As  soon  as  I  was  near  enough,  the  prisoner 
asked : 

"What  are  you?" 

"A  man." 

"Oh,  I  am  quite  sure  of  that,"  he  answered  with 
a  laugh.  "I  mean  of  what  country  are  you?" 

"American." 

"I  thought  so.  You  are  American  and  therefor 
keep  your  given  word." 

"It  does  not  follow.  That  is  only  our  religion. 
Not  all  practise  it." 

"I  am  sure  you  do.  Will  you  do  something  for 
me?" 

"If  it  be  not  unlawful." 

"It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  laws  of  Monte- 
negro. I  have  a  packet  here  in  my  belt.  It  is 
small.  I  want  it  safely  and  secretly  delivered  to 
a  man  in  Cattaro.  Will  you  do  it  ?" 

"Will  it  get  me  into  any  trouble?" 

"Not  the  least  risk  if  you  are  only  secret,  be- 
fore and  afterward." 

"Why  do  you  not  get  a  Montenegrin  to  do  it? 
There  are  many  in  Cattaro  every  day." 

"Montenegrins  are  watched.  No  attention  will 
be  paid  to  you  when  you  visit  this  man's  house." 

"Oh,  there  w  a  risk,  then.  Please" .  The 

guard  was  drawing  near,  and  I  asked : 

"What  was  your  offence?  Did  you  kill  some- 
body?" 

"Oh,  no,  you  see  I  have  no  chain.  I  was  drunk 
and  had  trouble  in  a  coffee  house." 

The  guard  ^*-°.w  away  again. 

43 


The    A  c  c  u  r  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Please  excuse  me.  I  am  trying  to  keep  out  of 
mischief — not  to  get  into  it." 

He  laughed. 

"I  am  not  really  laughing,  sir,  but  our  conversa- 
tion must  not  seem  too  earnest.  Sir,  if  you  will 
do  this,  the  person  who  receives  this  package  will 
pay  you  money — much  money,  providing  he  find 
the  seals  unbroken." 

A  thought  struck  me.  Perhaps  this  was  the 
"shorter  way"  I  was  looking  for.  For  when 
Europeans  will  pay  money — "much  money"  for  a 
service,  they  are  at  their  wits'  end  and  are  employ- 
ing a  last  resort.  If  they  will  pay  money — "much 
money,"  they  will  cheerfully  substitute  any  other 
thing  you  want  in  place  of  money. 

"Who  is  the  man  in  Cattaro?" 

"I  cannot  tell  you  unless  you  agree  to  take  the 
packet  to  him." 

"Is  he  a  man  of  importance  down  there?" 

"Yes,  indeed.    A  very  rich  man." 

I  conned  it  over.  It  seemed  safe  enough.  The 
prisoner  continued: 

"You  must  decide  quickly." 

"If  I  give  my  word  to  take  it,  you  must  give 
yours  that  I  shall  be  safe  in  doing  so." 

"I  give  my  word,  provided  the  seals  be  not  brok- 
en, and  you  never  mention  it,  now  or  afterwards." 

"All  right.  I'll  take  it  to  him.  How  am  I  to 
get  the  packet?" 

"You  see  this  corner  of  the  prison  fence  ?  There, 
where  the  school  children  are  playing?  Now  count 
to  the  eleventh  post  up  that  side.  It  is  hollow.  It 
is  closed  by  a  knot  which  you  can  pull  out.  Come 
here  after  dark  and  you  will  find  the  packet  in 
there." 

"To  whom  shall  I  deliver  it?" 
44 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"To  the  banker  Sbutega  in  Cattaro,  and  only  into 
his  own  hands  when  no  other  person  can  see  him 
take  it." 

We  were  barely  in  time,  for  the  guard  was  com- 
ing again.  The  latter  courteously  informed  me 
that  it  was  not  allowed  to  talk  too  long  with  the 
prisoners.  I  touched  my  hat,  receiving  a  courte- 
ous return  salute  and  departed. 

That  night  I  obtained  the  packet.  Of  course  I 
would  keep  faith  reasonably  but  it  was  not  in  the 
nature  of  things  and  also  not  prudent  to  keep  the 
matter  from  Harry,  so  I  had  told  him  about  it.  He 
repeated  his  remark. 

"It  is  dangerous.  Of  course  I  see  why  you  were 
willing  to  undertake  it.  But  in  doing  so  you  have 
placed  yourself  at  the  mercy  of  the  convenience 
of  both  the  prisoner  and  the  banker.  If  either  need 
to  do  so,  in  the  future,  he  will  sacrifice  you  with- 
out the  bat  of  an  eye.  I  know  the  honor  of  these 
people.  Living  as  you  do  in  Vienna,  you  must 
know  that  the  whole  Balkans  is  a  hot-bed  of  po- 
litical intrigue,  and,  I  take  it,  this  is  something  of 
that  sort." 

"Well,  I  can't  get  out  of  it  now." 

"No,  it  would  be  even  more  dangerous  not  to  do 
it  now ;  but  it  is  a  pity  you  were  not  more  prudent 
in  the  first  place." 

This  conversation  had  occurred  on  Saturday  eve- 
ning. I  did  not  give  Harry's  croaking  much  seri- 
ous consideration,  for  my  mind  was  full  of  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday  morning.  This  last  mentioned  state 
of  mind  was  due  to  a  remark  of  the  Ingenieur 
while  we  were  on  shipboard.  He  had  said  that  all 
of  the  people  of  the  gulfs  who  were  near  enough 
and  had  any  clothes  always  went  to  Cattaro  to 
church  on  Sundays,  and  promenaded  the  Marina 
45 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

afterwards,  remarking  further  that  this  was  the 
time  and  opportunity  to  see  the  pretty  women  who 
lived  here. 

There  are  two  cathedrals  in  Cattaro — the  Roman 
Catholic  and  Servian  Orthodox  ("Greek")  for  here 
in  Dalmatia  the  East  and  the  West  meet  in  relig- 
ion as  well  as  in  other  ways.  This  fact  offered  no 
special  difficulty,  however,  for  the  two  churches 
were  within  an  easy  stone's  throw  of  each  other, 
and  Harry  could  go  to  one  and  I  to  the  other.  If 
Gisela  and  her  people  were  at  the  church  Harry 
visited  he  could  come  and  signal  me. 

For  a  wonder  Harry  had  agreed  to  this  arrange- 
ment without  demur.  He  said  he  should  be  able 
to  recognize  her  if  she  were  one-quarter  the  beauty 
I  described.  Probably  his  ready  acquiescence  was 
partly  due  to  curiosity.  It  was  an  even  guess  which 
they  would  attend,  and  I  left  the  choice  to  Harry. 
He  chose  the  Catholic  Cathedral,  so  the  very  glar- 
ing hot  Sunday  morning  found  me,  in  irreproach- 
able flannel  coat  and  duck  trousers,  wending  my 
way  to  the  "New"  Cathedral. 

I  arrived  too  late  for  the  Benediction,  and  the 
Prayer  was  already  being  read.  I  entered  the  ves- 
tibule and  from  the  inner  door  cast  a  look  over 
the  woman's  side  of  the  church.  There  were  many 
there,  but  none  of  the  Tomanovich  family  had 
come,  so  I  took  my  stand  near  the  entrance  mean- 
ing to  be  readily  seen  and  signaled  by  Harry  if 
he  came. 

The  church  was  new  (that  is,  was  but  some  fifty 
odd  years  old),  having  replaced  an  older  cathedral 
which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  a  rather 
small  but  well-proportioned  basilica,  and  had  as  yet 
but  little  interior  ornamentation.  Its  decoration  must 
be  replaced,  little  by  little,  from  decade  to  decade, 
46 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

as  the  parishioners  might  be  able  to  afford.  The 
altar-screen  *  was  complete,  however,  being  cov- 
ered from  floor  to  ceiling  by  finely  executed  ikons. 
The  light  was  soothing  and  the  church  was  cool. 
The  tall  massive  priest  was  reading  the  prayer  in 
a  monotone  and  the  congregation  stood,  with  heads 
bent,  in  silence.  I  understood  not  a  word  of  what 
the  priest  was  reading — neither  did  many  of  his 
people,  for  the  vehicle  of  the  service  was  the  an- 
cient basic  Slavonic  tongue  which  has  long  since 
given  place  to  the  many  offshoots, — Russian, 
Polish,  Bohemian,  Servian  and  others — which  now 
exist;  but  the  air  of  reverence  was,  if  anything, 
even  more  augmented  by  the  resulting  mystery  of 
the  service,  as  must  always  be  the  case  in  a  stately 
church  whose  creed  has  the  prestige  of  many  suc- 
cessive centuries. 

The  priest  and  the  diakon  appeared  before  the 
altar  bearing  the  Evangelium,  and  in  the  midst  of 
antiphonal  singing  by  the  choir,  I  became  aware 
of  arrivals.  Turning  my  head,  I  saw  the  Tomano- 
vich  family  entering  the  vestibule.  I  saw  the  In- 
genieur  first,  and  at  sight  of  him  moved  a  little  for- 
ward among  the  men  and  in  front  of  a  column.  A 
verger  preceded  them,  unlocked  three  pews  well 
forward  and  ushered  them  in.  The  Ingenieur  was 
accompanied  by  a  large  powerful-looking  white- 
haired  man  whom  I  assumed  to  be  Tomanovich 


*  The  division  wall  between  the  auditorium  and  the 
sanctuary,  it  and  its  appurtenances  being  collectively  called 
"the  altar."  The  space  it  comprehends  is  relatively  much 
smaller  than  the  "sanctuary"  of  a  Catholic  or  the  "chancel" 
of  an  English  Established  or  "Episcopal"  edifice,  and  in 
the  Oriental-"Orthodox"  this  sacred  space  occupies  the 
apse,  or  extreme  rear  of  the  building,  with  no  passage 
or  aisle  round  about  it. 

47 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

himself,  and  by  a  tall  handsome  young  man.  I 
could  give  them  scant  attention  as  I  sidled  around 
my  column  as  a  squirrel  does  his  tree.  Some  wom- 
en also  had  come  in  but  in  my  efforts  to  avoid  be- 
ing seen  by  the  Ingenieur  I  forgot  them  for  a  mo- 
ment. Now  I  saw  that  an  elderly  woman  with  a 
Slav  face  and  a  young  woman,  not  Gisela,  were 
being  shown  pews  on  the  women's  side,  next  to 
the  Bishop's  seat.  That  was  all.  Gisela  had  not 
come. 

I  swallowed  my  disappointment  as  best  I  could 
and  began  to  observe  the  two  women.  The  girl 
was  the  same  one  I  had  seen  with  the  Ingenieur 
on  the  road  at  Perzagno.  She  was,  doubtless,  the 
fiancee,  Lubitza.  Her  face  was  rather  Oriental  in 
type,  but  both  she  and  her  mother  kept  their  faces 
forward  during  the  reading  of  the  Apostol  and  I 
could  not  study  them  further. 

The  keen  sense  of  disappointment  kept  nagging 
at  me  and  blunted  the  attention  which  the  beauti- 
ful service  deserved.  I  wondered  why  Gisela  had 
not  come,  and  various  theories  suggested  them- 
selves. Perhaps  she  was  not  allowed  to  attend 
church;  but  after  a  moment's  thought  I  dismissed 
this  idea.  Perhaps  she  was  ill,  but  I  did  not  be- 
lieve it — I  did  not  believe  she  could  ever  be  ill. 
Perhaps  the  family  were  divided  in  their  creed  and 
Gisela  was  now  in  the  Roman  cathedral.  Old  Al- 
bina  had  been  Roman  Catholic.  But  Harry  had 
not  come  for  me.  Would  Harry  have  sense 
enough  to  know  her?  There  were  other  beautiful 
girls  in  Cattaro. 

This  thought  assailed  me  until  I  turned  to  leave, 

but  at  this  moment  the  priest  went  within  the  altar 

and  the  choir  burst  into  the  Ejeheroine.    From  the 

attitude  of  the  congregation  I  saw  that  now  was 

48 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

no  time  to  leave,  so  I  kept  my  place.  There  was  no 
organ  or  other  instrumental  accompaniment,  but 
the  choir  was  good  and  the  stately  measure  and  old 
style  harmonious  progressions  made  me  forget  my 
errand  for  the  present — and  I  have  always  loved 
the  odor  of  incense.  After  a  time  the  central 
doors  of  the  altar  opened  and  the  priest  appeared 
bearing  the  Bread  and  Wine.  The  entire  congre- 
gation fell  upon  their  knees,  many  upon  their  faces. 
Being  a  stranger  and  a  heretic,  I  experienced  in 
this  moment  the  same  hesitation  and  embarrass- 
ment which  always  assail  the  uninformed  Prote- 
stant when  he  happens  to  attend  service  in  a  Catho- 
lic or  Greek  church.  I  would  have  knelt,  from 
respect  if  from  no  other  consideration,  but  I  was 
too  late  and  found  myself  standing  alone  among 
the  prostrate  people.  So  I  kept  my  feet;  but  now 
I  could  see  every  member  of  the  congregation. 

The  priest  and  diakon  made  their  processional 
among  the  people.  As  they  passed  to  the  back  of 
the  church  my  eyes  followed  them  and  caught 
sight  of  two  women  kneeling  at  the  rear.  One  was 
old,  evidently  a  serving-woman,  and  she  was  gaz- 
ing earnestly  at  me.  As  I  caught  her  eye  she  looked 
down  again.  Kneeling  by  her  side  was  Gisela. 
Having  recognized  her,  I  could  see  her  no  more 
for  a  moment  by  reason  of  having  to  conceal  the 
revulsion  of  feeling  from  disappointment  to  joy, 
by  proper  behavior  and  correct  outward  aspect,  as 
became  the  time  and  place. 

The  priest  finished  his  tour  and  again  disap- 
peared within  the  altar.  The  choir  chanted  a  prayer 
during  which  the  congregation  rose  and  I  could 
see  her  no  longer. 

I  promptly  forgot  my  arrangement  to  notify 
Harry  and  occupied  myself  with  wondering  if 

49 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Gisela  had  seen  me.  There  was  no  sign  of  it — I 
had  not  caught  her  eye,  and  she  was  giving  her 
whole  attention  to  the  service.  I  hoped  she  had 
seen  me  and  believed  she  had,  for  the  searching 
look  from  the  owlish  face  of  the  serving-woman 
had  meant  especial  interest  of  some  sort,  whether 
friendly  or  not  I  could  not  guess.  I  edged  back- 
wards until  I  reached  the  rear  column,  where 
I  could  see  them  again.  I  caught  the  eye  of  the 
serving-woman  again.  She  was  standing  behind 
Gisela.  Having  given  me  a  look  she  turned  her 
head  forward.  From  the  corner  of  my  eye  I  saw 
her  bend  forward  and  whisper  in  Gisela's  ear.  The 
girl  grew  rosy  but  kept  her  pretty  head  resolutely 
forward,  and  during  the  Inner  Communion  I  spent 
my  time  gazing  at  her  profile  and  listening  to  the 
stately  choral  music. 

The  priest  came  once  more  out  of  the  altar  bear- 
ing the  Bread  and  Wine  and  the  congregation 
formed  a  procession  to  partake  of  the  general  Com- 
munion, the  men  and  women  now  mingling  to- 
gether. Gisela  and  the  serving-woman  moved  for- 
ward with  the  rest,  and  I  could  see  them  no  longer. 
I  noticed  that  the  Ingenieur  did  not  go  forward  but 
waited  in  his  place — a  sure  sign  that  he  was  not 
of  this  creed.  Thus  I  was  compelled  for  now,  to 
make  a  business  of  keeping  my  column  between  me 
and  him.  After  partaking  of  the  Bread,  the 
final  prayer  was  read  and  the  congregation  broke 
up  into  groups,  the  priest  being  the  center  of  one 
which  included  the  elder  Tomanovich  and  his  fam- 
ily. I  saw  Gisela  among  those  who  were  passing 
along  the  altar  screen,  kissing  the  Book,  the  Mother 
and  Child,  and  other  favorite  ikons.  The  serving- 
woman  was  strolling  slowly  up  the  women's  side. 
I  kept  my  eyes  upon  her  and  waited.  She  came 
50 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

past  the  rear  column  on  her  side  and  turned.  For 
the  moment  we  were  alone,  but  not  very  near  one 
another.  She  stood  still  and  faced  me  with  an  ex- 
pression which  would  have  done  credit  to  a  Spanish 
inquisitor.  Her  eyes  burned.  I  tried  to  smile  in 
that  owlish  face  but  could  not.  I  held  out  my 
hands,  appealingly.  Sjie  broke  into  silent  laughteiy. 
gave  me  one  more  lorig~Iook,  and  then,  smiling  de- 
risively over  her  shoulder,  went  to  the  sacristan's 
table  where  she  laid  down  a  coin.  The  sacristan 
took  up  two  fresh  candles  and  went  forward  with 
her  to  light  and  place  them  in  sconces  at  one  end 
of  the  altar-screen.  The  serving-woman,  coming 
back,  met  Gisela  at  the  Bishop's  chair  and  they 
stopped  to  talk.  I  sidled  around  my  column  far 
enough  so  they,  but  not  the  Ingenieur,  could  see 
me.  They  seemed  convulsed  with  laughter  and 
I  caught  Gisela's  laughing  eyes  once.  They  con- 
sulted— they  seemed  to  argue — they  laughed  si- 
lently at  me.  Nothing  daunted,  I  held  out  my 
hands  again.  They  turned  their  backs,  shaking. 
Gisela  dropped  her  little  hand  bag.  I  had  seen  her 
drop  it  twice  during  the  service.  She  seemed  never 
to  be  able  to  hold  it.  The  serving-woman  picked 
up  the  reticule  and  opened  it,  drawing  from  it  what 
seemed  to  be  a  little  tablet  of  paper  or  memoran- 
dum book.  Gisela  put  out  her  hand  as  if  in  protest. 
Again  they  argued,  and  alas, — giggled.  Finally 
Gisela  seemed  to  give  it  up  and  walked  away.  The 
woman  scribbled  something  on  the  little  tablet, 
tore  off  the  page,  dropped  this  into  the  reticule  and 
snapped  it  to,  putting  the  remainder  of  the  tablet  in- 
to the  breast  of  her  own  dress. 

The  various  parties  in  the  church  were  now  break- 
ing up,  and  I  saw  Gisela  join  the  serving-woman 
again  and  take  the  reticule.  She  leaned  against 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  Bishop's  seat  in  a  very  graceful,  negligent  atti- 
tude, the  hand  bearing  the  reticule  resting  against 
the  back  of  the  first  pew  which  stood  against  the 
wall.  She  was  very  rosy  and  still  bubbling  over 
with  suppressed  merriment. 

Old  Tomanovich  and  the  young  man  joined  the 
Ingenieur,  who  was  surrounded  by  others.  They 
now  moved  toward  the  entrance  and  I  hastened 
behind  a  column  on  the  opposite  side.  The  serv- 
ing-woman went  to  Gisela  and  called  her.  Gisela 
once  more  dropped  the  reticule  and  I  saw  it  fall 
behind  the  pew.  The  two  women  joined  the  rest 
of  their  party  and  they  all  moved  toward  the  en- 
trance and  passed  out. 

I  had  seen  the  reticule  fall,  but  was  sure  it  was 
safe  as  the  pew  was  solid  to  the  floor  and  it  could 
not  be  seen.  There  would  be  plenty  of  oppor- 
tunity to  get  it  later.  At  first  I  planned  to  do  this  at 
once  and  take  the  handbag  to  her,  but  realizing  that 
such  a  proceeding  would  mean  merely  thanks  and 
a  courteous  dismissal  I  decided  to  leave  it  where 
it  was  for  the  present  and  obtain  it  later  in  the 
day,  in  the  hope  of  making  a  more  certain  use  of 
my  possession  of  it.  Accordingly  I  followed  the 
party  to  the  door  and  watched  them  from  within. 
They  were  having  another  reunion  with  their  ac- 
quaintances outside,  among  which  were  a  number 
of  young  men  and  three  or  four  officers  who  found 
much  to  say  to  the  male  members  of  the  family,  but 
all  of  whose  eyes  were  for  Gisela.  She  seemed  ut- 
terly oblivious  of  this,  and  joined  a  petite  dark 
little  girl  almost  as  pretty  as  herself.  They  were 
joined  by  several  young  men  but  Gisela  gave  these 
scant  attention  and  rejoined  her  family,  their  eyes 
persistently  and  regretfully  following  her. 

Yes,  she  had  plenty  of  admirers! 
52 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  ens 

I  thought  the  chattering  and  hand-shaking  would 
never  come  to  an  end.  The  old  Tomanovich 
seemed  as  enthusiastic  in  social  intercourse  as 
either  of  the  girls,  but  finally  their  party  gathered 
itself  together  and  with  many  pauses,  false  starts 
and  retracing  of  steps  to  say  something  more,  they 
at  last  definitely  started  for  the  Marine  gate.  I 
followed. 

After  gaining  the  Riva  the  party  separated.  Old 
Tomanovich,  the  Ingenieur  and  the  younger  man 
proceeded  in  the  direction  of  the  Dojmi  and  the  la- 
dies made  for  their  boat.  They  seemed  to  be  going 
directly  back  to  Perzagno. 

I  hesitated  to  follow,  but  Gisela  gave  a  backward 
look,  and  her  laughing  eyes  met  mine  once  more. 
I  saw  little  use  in  it,  but  I  slowly  followed.  There 
were  many  people  sauntering  about,  so  the  only  no- 
tice I  attracted  was  by  reason  of  being  a  stranger. 

The  ladies  stepped  into  their  barque  with  many 
a  saucy  bit  of  repartee,  with  various  friends  stand- 
ing about.  A  little  farther  down  the  Riva  the 
noon  boat  from  the  north  was  being  warped  to  the 
pier,  and  a  dog  fight  had  begun  a  little  this 
side. 

Between  these  attractions,  the  loiterers  found  in- 
ducement to  move  away  and  in  a  moment  or  two 
I  was  nearly  alone  with  the  party.  The  serving- 
woman  gave  me  a  stare,  but  Gisela  did  not  look  at 
me  again.  I  moved  away  a  few  steps. 

A  commotion  caused  me  to  turn  again,  when  I 
saw  that  Gisela  with  many  pretty  Italian  gesticu- 
lations was  anxiously  giving  directions  to  the 
serving-woman.  I  could  not  understand,  but  I 
was  sure  it  was  about  the  reticule.  I  regretted  I 
had  not  brought  it  with  me,  but  it  could  not  be 
53 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

helped  now.  The  party  did  not  wait  but  left  the 
woman  behind.  She  hastily  made  for  the  Marine 
Gate. 

I  followed  her  in  I  know  not  what  expectation. 
The  day  was  terribly  hot  and  by  the  time  I  had 
reached  the  cathedral  I  was  beginning  to  think 
that  perhaps  even  a  beautiful  girl  may  sometimes 
not  be  worth  while,  for  the  woman's  pace  was 
pitiless.  I  entered  the  church  just  after  her.  The 
building  was  deserted  except  for  ourselves,  and 
I  took  up  a  position  near  the  chair  behind  which 
I  had  seen  the  reticule  fall  and  watched  her  from 
there.  She  searched  about  for  some  moments. 
Our  eyes  met  more  than  once  but  she  did  not  ad- 
dress me — only  clasped  her  hands  and  raised  her 
head  in  mock  despair.  I  caught  her  eye  once  more, 
drew  out  the  reticule,  and  took  it  to  her. 

She  accepted  it  with  her  head  down  and  prompt- 
ly opened  it.  I  saw  a  dainty  handkerchief,  a  comb, 
a  little  round  box  which  probably  contained  a 
powder  puff,  and  some  other  things.  She  searched 
and  found — alas !  dolt  that  I  had  been — the  little 
note.  So  that  was  why  the  reticule  had  been  for- 
gotten! But  had  she  expected  I  would  open  and 
search  it?  What  kind  of  men  did  they  have  here 
in  Cattaro?  I  was  at  least  acquitted  of  that,  and 
the  woman  could  give  me  the  note  now. 

I  held  out  my  hand,  but  she  dropped  the  note 
back  into  the  reticule,  snapped  it  to,  and  was  off 
like  a  shot.  At  the  church  door  she  turned  her 
head  with  a  quizzical  look  and  disappeared.  Then 
came  another  hot  chase  to  the  Riva,  this  time  with 
no  thought  of  a  beautiful  girl  not  being  worth 
while,  even  on  such  a  day  as  this  one,  but  with 
plenty  of  wrath  at  old  women  in  general  and  this 
one  in  particular.  As  she  flew  through  the  long 
54 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

arch  of  the  Marine  Gate  she  threw  me  another  gay 
look  which  was  doubtless  meant  to  be  teasing  but 
which  appeared  diabolical. 

I  saw  her  open  the  reticule  again  as  she  flitted 
across  the  Marina,  which  was  still  deserted  except 
for  a  couple  of  waiting  barque-men,  but  without 
pause  she  began  a  bargain  with  the  rowers.  Words 
ran  high  and  gesticulations  were  extensive  and 
numerous.  As  I  came  up  she  turned  with  a  voluble 
appeal  to  me,  and  to  my  relief,  dropped  the  little 
note.  I  put  my  foot  upon  it.  She  climbed  into 
the  boat  and  they  rowed  away.  She  looked  back 
with  another  arch  look  and  I  raised  my  hat.  It  is 
curious  how  differently  the  same  look  can  appear 
under  different  circumstances ! 

After  a  look  about,  I  picked  up  the  note  and  re- 
tired to  the  cool  arch  of  the  Marine  Gate  to  read  it. 
It  was  in  Italian,  but  was  short,  and  while  I  did  not 
understand  the  spoken  tongue,  I  could  read  it  a  lit- 
tle. 

"Cattedrale,  domani,  dopo  pranso  a  tre  ore — 
venir  solo."  Three  o'clock  Monday  afternoon. 
The  Cathedral,  if  open,  would  be  sure  to  be  de- 
serted at  that  heated  hour.  Probably  Monday  was 
a  Greek  Church  holy-day,  for  the  Oriental  Ortho- 
dox Church  is  usually  closed  on  week  days.  I  con- 
cluded that  she  would  know. 

If  I  had  a  subconscious  thought  that  I  would 
have  preferred  to  meet  her  some  other  way — would 
have  preferred  that  the  initiative  should  have  come 
more  from  myself — it  was  easy  to  put  the  thought 
away.  There  could  be  no  cavil  at  the  place  and 
hour.  Besides,  as  Harry  so  often  had  said,  I  did 
not  know  these  people  and  their  ways.  Perhaps  a 
local  man  would  have  found  in  it  nothing  but  a 

55 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

matter  of  course.  Besides,  maybe  she  had  reasons 
of  which  I  knew  nothing,  for  the  step.  Anyway,  I 
would  be  there — and  I  would  "come  alone." 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  following  morning  I  made  my  visit  to  the 
banker.  Having  stated  that  I  wished  to  see  Signor 
Sbutega  in  person,  I  was  conducted  into  his  private 
office  where,  seated  at  a  flat  desk,  was  a  man  with 
snow-white  beard,  hair  and  eyebrows,  rosy  sun- 
tanned face  and  snapping  black  eyes  full  of  life  and 
fire.  I  could  not  guess  his  age  within  a  dozen 
years.  For  a  very  rich  man  the  appointments  of 
his  private  office  were  wonderfully  few  and  sim- 
ple and  everything  looked  like  it  had  been  owned 
and  used  by  him  for  at  least  twenty  years;  but  all 
was  spotlessly  clean  and  the  old  gentleman  was 
neatly  but  comfortably  attired  in  alpaca  coat,  fresh 
white  shirt  and  collar  and  duck  trousers.  I  envied 
him  all  but  his  years.  He  rose,  bowed  and  directed 
me  to  sit  opposite  him.  After  a  look  at  my  card 
he  said: 

"Please  excuse  me  for  not  moving  up  the  chair 
myself,  Herr  Doktor.  You  young  men  are  more 
active  than  we  gouty  old  fellows." 

I  looked  at  him  and  laughed. 

"I  think  you  could  pack  me  on  your  back  to  the 
Marine  Gate  without  drawing  a  long  breath." 

He  smiled  pleasantly. 

"No — perhaps  once — but  those  feats  are  past 
with  me  now.  Also,  it  is  very  hot,  Doctor  Ran- 
some." 

"Do  you  know  Cettinje,  Signor  Sbutega?" 

"Know  Cettinje?  I  have  lived  here  over  thirty 
years,  Doctor  Ransome !  However,  it  has  been 
some  time  since  I  have  dared  to  go  there,  Why?" 
57 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  silently  handed  him  the  envelope.  He  looked 
from  it  to  me  with  his  keen  black  eyes.  Then  with 
a  courteous  excuse,  he  left  the  room.  After  a  few 
moments  he  returned. 

"Do  you  know  anything  of  this  matter,  Doctor  ?" 

"Not  a  thing."  Then  I  related  the  manner  of 
my  receiving  it. 

"Have  you  been  careful,  and  above  all,  discreet?" 

"I  confided  to  my  friend  that  I  was  carrying  it." 

"Is  he  an  American?" 

"Yes,  Signor.  I  thought  best  that  he  should 
know  that  much — but  he  is  safe,  and  no  one  but 
myself  has  seen  the  packet." 

He  re-seated  himself  and  looked  me  up  and 
down  from  under  his  bushy  white  brows,  mean- 
while drumming  lightly  on  the  desk  with  his 
fingers. 

"Doctor,  in  this  matter  you  have  rendered  cer- 
tain persons  a  very  great  service — one  deserving  of 
liberality.  Will  you  be  offended  if  I  offer  you  a 
thousand  crowns  as  a  partial  acknowledgment?" 

"Not  offended,  certainly,  Signor,  but" 

He  looked  at  me  keenly. 

"Doctor  Ransome,  in  such  a  matter  I-  shall  not 
reckon  crowns  and  heller  with  you,  you  shall  have 
two,  three,  four  thousand,  if  you  like." 

His  face  was  puzzled,  but  kind.  Indeed  he 
looked  like  a  man  who  not  only  once  had  been 
youthful,  but  also  like  one  who  had  not  forgotten 
his  youth. 

"I  don't  want  money  at  all,  Signor.  I  am  not 
rich  but  I  have  enough  for  my  wants.  Nor  do  I 
wish  any  reward  as  such  for  this  small  service.  It 
was  no  trouble.  But  aside  from  any  question  of 
reward  you  can  do  me  a  very  great  kindness.  If 
you  like  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is,  and  after  you 
58 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

know,  you  can  do  it  for  me  or  not  as  you  think 
best.  If  you  think  best  not  to,  we  can  simply  forget 
the  entire  matter." 

He  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 

"Let  me  hear  it,  Doctor." 

His  fresh,  kindly  old  face  had  so  won  me  that 
it  seemed  the  most  simple  and  reasonable  way  to 
give  him  freely  my  entire  confidence.  Besides,  he 
was  too  keen  and  discerning  to  be  deceived.  Anyway 
it  could  do  no  harm.  There  was  nothing  discredi- 
table in  my  wish  and  I  was  not  ashamed  of  it. 

"Do  you  know  Signer  Tomanovich  who  lives  in 
Perzagno  ?" 

He  leaned  forward  on  the  desk  and  seemed  full 
of  interest  at  once. 

"Very  well — for  many  years." 

"Well,  I  would  like  to  meet  him.  I  am  perfectly 
willing  to  furnish  you  credentials." 

"Is  it  a  business  matter?" 

"I — oh — not  exactly,  Signer.  It  has,  rather — a 
social  cast." 

For  one  instant  his  keen  face  was  puzzled — and 
then  the  smile  began.  My  own  began  and  pro- 
gressed seriatim  with  his,  and  after  a  moment  the 
laugh  was  unrestrained  on  both  sides. 

Then  he  grew  grave,  and  his  eyes  once  more 
studied  my  face,  this  time  for  one  or  two  minutes 
as  it  seemed.  Then  he  gazed  out  of  the  window. 
There  was  some  conflict  or  other  going  on  behind 
that  old-young  face,  for  its  expression  varied  every 
second.  After  a  long  time  he  began  to  speak,  still 
looking  out  of  the  window. 

"I  think  I  understand.  Your  interest  is  in  the 
maid  Gisela,  is  it  not?  For  the  other,  Lubitza,  is 
to  marry  an  Austrian." 

"You  are  right,  Signer." 
59 


T  h 


"Of  course,  Doctor  Ransome,  it  would  be  easy 
enough  to  do  what  you  wish.  Tomanovich  is  a 
long-time  acquaintance  of  mine  and  our  families 
have  always  been  on  fair  terms.  But — I  don't 
know — just  quite  whether — it  would  be — best.  In 
saying  that,  I  am  thinking  of  your  welfare — not 
theirs,  Doctor  Ransome,  and  I  beg  of  you  never  to 
repeat  me.  At  least,  you  should  have  a  little  warn- 
ing first." 

My  heart  descended  to  my  shoes. 

"Is  there  anything  wrong  with  the  young  woman, 
Signer?" 

"Oh,  noT  (My  heart  reascended.)  "No,  in- 
deed! As  far  as  I  know  she  is,  in  every  particu- 
lar, as  fine  a  young  woman  as  ever  counted  beads, 
Doctor.  But — well,  the  fact  is,  that  the  family  is 
peculiar,  and  in  a  peculiar  situation.  In  the  first 
place,  she  is  not  Tomanovich's  daughter — did  you 
know  that?" 

"Yes,  I  know.    Her  name  is  Portulan." 

He  looked  sharply  at  me  again. 

"Have  you  met  her  yet?" 

"Not  yet,  Signor." 

He  smiled  broadly  again. 

"Ah— still  love  from  the  street." 

"Quite  so.  I  have  had  a  very  brief  account  of 
her." 

After  a  moment  of  silence: 

"Then  you  know  that  she  is  of  the  accursed 
Roccos  and  a  great-granddaughter  of  Albina  Por- 
tulan, who  lived  in  Le  Tre  Sorelle  and  who  was  the 
last  of  the  three  sisters  to  survive.  Old  Albina 
was,  in  those  days,  supposed  to  be  fabulously  rich, 
because  she  finally  inherited  the  entire  possessions 
of  her  father,  the  last  Rocco,  who  built  that  house. 

But  when  she  finally  died,  although  still  very 
60 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

wealthy,  she  proved  to  have  scarcely  a  fraction  of 
the  immense  estate  with  which  she  was  credited. 
What  Rocco  or  she  did  with  the  bulk  of  it  no  one 
has  ever  known.  All  that  could  be  found  was  the 
small  property  there  in  Perzagno,  and  several  large 
vineyards  on  the  islands  of  Lissa  and  Curzola,  and 
in  the  Breno  valley.  For  several  years  before  her 
death  she  had  lived  in  the  town  of  Curzola,  where 
her  husband  and  father  had  been  interred  many 
years  before.  The  heir,  desperate  over  the  shrink- 
age of  the  fortune,  even  went  to  the  length  of 
searching  her  husband's  and  father's  very  tomb, 
without  ever  rinding  a  heller.  Worse  than  all,  she 
had  left  a  peculiar  will,  whereby  for  two  genera- 
tions the  remaining  property  was  left  in  trust,  the 
income  only  being  available  to  the  heirs,  the  full 
title  of  the  property  to  be  finally  vested  in  the 
granddaughter  of  her  son,  and  under  a  singular 
condition." 

He  paused  and  looked  at  me  thoughtfully. 

"By  the  bye,  Doctor,  I  find  myself  about  to  dis- 
cuss a  rather  private  matter.  So  far,  what  I  have 
told  you  is  common  property,  but  what  I  am 
about  to  relate,  while  not  precisely  a  secret,  is  only 
known  to  a  few.  I  shall  not  treat  it  as  strictly  con- 
fidential, but  I  will  ask  you  to  discuss  it  as  little 
as  possible  here.  Tomanovich  is  an  old  acquain- 
tance and  we  have  been  variously  associated  in 
business.  I  would  not  care  to  have  him  learn  that 
I  have  discussed  his  private  affairs  so  freely.  Still, 
I  have  taken  a  liking  to  you.  We  old  men  have 
only  the  quest  of  money  left  us  as  a  pastime,  but  I 
can  remember  when,  like  you,  there  were  things  I 
put  before  money.  I  think  it  best,  in  your  present 
enterprise,  that  you  be  put  in  possession  of  this  in- 
formation." 

61 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

The  old-fashioned  courtesy  of  the  banker  was 
only  equalled  by  the  beauty  of  the  German  he 
spoke,  the  which  put  me  to  shame. 

"I  shall  speak  of  the  matter  to  no  one  but  my 
friend,  and  not  to  him  if  you  like." 

"You  may  tell  him  of  it.  He  is  already  in  our 
confidence." 

He  resumed: 

"Doctor  Ransome,  the  most  pious  individuals  in 
our  world  are  the  once  gay  women  who,  having 
grown  too  old  to  attract  lovers,  turn  to  the  Con- 
fessional; and  that,  in  a  nutshell,  is  the  history  of 
Albina  Portulan.  Her  son,  whom  I  have  men- 
tioned, and  who  was  her  heir,  was  born  out  of 
wedlock;  nor  did  she  ever  marry  the  father  of 
this  child,  but  another  man.  Also,  her  history  con- 
tinued checkered  after  her  marriage.  But  in  her 
last  years,  she  was  devoted  to  the  Church.  We 
would  believe  that  the  Church  privately  obtained 
the  great  missing  part  of  her  fortune,  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  the  church  fathers  seem  to  have 
been  as  bitterly  wroth  and  disappointed,  after  her 
death,  as  the  heir  himself  was. 

Well,  she  left  a  will,  as  I  have  said,  by  which 
her  real  estate  should  descend  to  the  great-grand- 
claughter  in  the  paternal  line.  Why  the  great- 
granddaughter  rather  than  the  great-grandson,  is 
unknown  to  us. 

This  great-granddaughter  of  Albina  is  the  pres- 
ent Gisela  Portulan,  in  whom  you  are  interested. 
Now  the  proviso  in  the  will,  under  which  she  in- 
herits, is  this: 

'Provided  the  said  female  heir,  up  to  the  time 
of  her  legal  age,  never  shall  have  broken  a  cardinal 
rule  of  the  church;  or  having  broken  it,  shall  have 
atoned  for  the  act  by  a  marriage.' 
62 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

And  the  banker  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 

"Well,  did  she  ever  break  a  rule?" 

"Not  as  yet." 

"Why!     Isn't  she  of  age  yet?" 

"No,  Signor.  In  Austria,  legal  age  is  twenty- 
four." 

"Twenty- four !  Hum.  Well,  where  is  the  prop- 
erty to  go  in  case  she  break  a  cardinal  rule?" 

"To  her  sister  if  there  be  one.  If  not,  to  the 
nearest  female  relative,  who  is  nearest  in  age. 
Failing  that,  the  property  was  to  go  to  the  Church. 
If  she  break  the  rule  she  will  only  inherit  the  worth- 
less ruin  known  as  Le  Tre  Sorelle.  The  nearest 
relative  in  age  is  Lubitza,  her  cousin,  the  daughter 
of  Signor  Tomanovich,"  said  the  banker,  signifi- 
cantly. 

I  did  not  miss  the  meaning  of  his  last  sentence, 
but  time  was  needed  for  it  to  dawn  fully. 

"Are  those  vineyards  of  much  value?" 

"Yes.  Their  value  has  never  been  unimportant, 
and  during  the  last  few  years,  since  Dalmatian 
wines  have  come  into  a  heavy  demand,  their  value 
has  appreciated  very  greatly.  I  suppose  their  value 
all  together, — now, — would  approach  a  million 
kronen." 

"Who  is  the  guardian  ?" 

"Tomanovich.  He  passes  as  a  wealthy  man,  but 
he  is  only  rich  in  this  property  which  he  controls. 
If  Gisela  live  according  to  the  will  until  she  be 
twenty-four,  she  will  take  all  the  family  has.  If 
she  fall,  she  will  have  only  Le  Tre  Sorelle,  and 
Tomanovich's  own  daughter  will  have  all." 

"May  Gisela  marry  before  she  come  of  age?" 

"With  her  guardian's  consent,  yes;  but  he  would 
not  consent,  and  the  marriage  of  a  person  under 
age  without  the  guardian's  consent,  is  illegal,  and 
63 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

can  be  set  aside.  The  family  has  every  interest  in 
preventing  such  an  event,  and  they  have  succeeded 
up  to  now.  So  far,  this  task  has  not  been  difficult 
for  the  girl  has  had  no  deep  interests  as  yet.  But, 
Doctor — ah — the  people  of  Dalmatia  are  a  good 
people — I  must  always  say  that — but  they  are  likely 
to  prove  primitive  where  their  interests  are  deeply 
involved.  I  warn  you  that  if  you  seek  this  girl, 
that  family  will  render  your  quest  fruitless  if  they 
can,  and  I  believe  they  would  go  as  far  as  neces- 
sary in  order  to  do  so.  Signer  Tomanovich  is  a 
good  man — I  respect  him  highly — but, — well,  Doc- 
tor, his  sympathies  are  naturally  with  his  own 
daughter  in  this  matter,  and — well,  Doctor,  have 
you  understood  my  drift?  Yes?  Well,  then,  you 
now  have  the  facts  and  the  warning.  For  the  rest, 
if  you  care  to  go  on  with  the  matter,  I  am  at  your 
service  as  far  as  lies  within  my  power.  If  you 
like,  you  may  take  a  day  or  two  to  think  the  matter 
over,  and  then  command  me." 

But  I  did  not  need  to  think  it  over.  I  told  him 
so,  and  he  smiled  once  more,  and  gave  his  word. 
Just  how  to  manage  he  did  not  yet  see,  but  he 
would  make  a  way  and  I  should  hear  from  him  or 
it  in  due  reasonable  time.  He  put  his  arm  about  my 
shoulders  as  he  saw  me  to  the  door. 

Of  course  Tomanovich  and  his  family  would  not 
wish  Gisela  to  marry,  as  long  as  keeping  her  single 
left  her  property  in  their  hands.  The  longer  she 
remained  single  up  to  her  maturity  the  more  clear 
profit  to  them,  and  in  the  course  of  waiting  for  her 
legal  age  there  were  various  chances  that  she  might 
never  reach  it,  or  having  reached  it,  have  lost  her 
property — then  they  would  own  all.  But  once  mar- 
ried, her  legal  status  was  settled  at  once.  With  that 
event  legally  accomplished,  they  would  become  sen- 
64 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

tenced  to  vacate  on  the  date  of  her  majority.  Yes, 
it  was  clear  enough  that  anyone  who  sought 
Gisela's  hand  would  have  to  face  difficulties  and 
perhaps  dangers.  The  old  banker's  warning  had 
not  been  evoked  by  an  imaginary  cause. 

It  was  past  lunch  time  when  I  left  the  counting- 
house,  but  not  being  hungry  and  desiring  a  little 
more  time  for  the  matter  before  I  spoke  with 
Harry,  I  made  my  way  out  to  my  former  place  in 
the  military  park  where  I  could  think  over  the 
banker's  communication  and  gaze  across  the  sunny 
gulf  at  the  town  where  she  lived. 

I  felt  no  more  than  a  passing  interest  in  her  es- 
tate— at  any  rate,  I  was  not  more  sincerely  interest- 
ed in  her  since  learning  of  her  estate  than  I  had 
been  before.  Besides,  the  person  who  has  enough 
for  his  wants,  be  that  ever  so  little,  is  already  rich. 
Tomanovich  might  keep  the  estate,  or  his  daughter 
might  take  it  for  all  I  cared.  Also,  a  compromise 
might  be  possible,  and  I  would  be  perfectly  willing. 
But  would  Gisela  look  at  the  matter  in  that  light? 
Giving  up  somebody  else's  estate  and  giving  up 
your  own  are  two  different  things.  However, 
these  were  idle  speculations  now. 

With  the  thought  that  he  who  does  not  try  for 
a  thing  is  the  one  who  is  most  certain  never  to  ob- 
tain it,  I  dismissed  the  matter  for  the  present,  and 
sought  my  room  to  have  a  freshening  up  before  it 
came  time  to  keep  the  tryst  set  for  three  o'clock. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

I  WAS  first  to  arrive,  and  began  to  kill  time  by 
examining  the  church. 

The  interior  was  simple,  and  except  the  elaborate 
altar  screen  with  its  ornate  ikons,  offered  small  op- 
portunity for  loitering.  I  made  the  most  of  the 
latter,  and  after  all  found  them  not  lacking  in  in- 
terest in  their  odd  combination  of  minute  portrait 
painting  and  overlaid  gold  work.  One  in  particu- 
lar was  a  picture  of  the  Mother  and  Child,  and  lay 
on  a  desk  beside  the  Holy  Book.  The  painting  and 
gold  work  on  this  would  have  borne  examination 
with  a  strong  lens.  This  piece  of  work  had  so  en- 
gaged my  attention  that  a  low  laugh  startled  me, 
and  turning  I  saw  a  woman  standing  beside  a  col- 
umn not  far  away. 

The  glare  from  the  pavement  outside  the  door 
blinded  me  for  a  moment,  but  upon  walking  that 
way  I  recognized  my  enemy-friend,  the  serving- 
woman.  She  was  smiling  broadly.  As  I  came  up 
she  announced: 

"Well,  Signer,  I  am  here.  Are  you  not  delight- 
ed?" 

I  cast  a  look  about  but  saw  no  one  else.  At  this 
she  lauged  out. 

"It  is  many  a  long  year  since  I  have  had  a  love 
affair.  I  had  about  given  up.  But  we  never  grow 
too  old,  Signer.  A/id  a  nice,  fresh  young  man 
like  you,  too!  I  was  little  dreaming  of  such  luck 
last  Saturday.  We'll  have  a  good  time  together, 
won't  we,  darling?" 

66 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  looked  about  again — a  little  uneasily  this  time. 

"I  was  so  embarrassed  yesterday !"  and  she  hung 
her  ridiculous  old  head.  "I  didn't  dare  to  talk 
to  you.  Just  think  of  it !  But  I  have  been  dream- 
ing of  you  all  night  long,  and  this  morning  I  could 
hardly  wait  until  it  came  time  to  come  over.  Are 
you  not  flattered?" 

"You  da —  delightful  old — tease!     Where  is" — 

"Old  tease!  Why!  I  expected  to  have  had  a 
warm  kiss  by  now !  Where  is  that  supplicating  look 
you  gave  me  during  the  service  only  yesterday 
morning?  And  where  are  those  praying  arms? 
They  are  hanging  by  your  sides  like  a  couple  of  sa- 
lami tied  to  dry  on  a  beam !  Do  you  think  you  are 
looking  at  the  ghost  of  your  great-grandmother?" 
(Her  voice  became  wheedling.)  "Never  mind, 
Signer.  We  older  girls  are  better  than  the  young 
ones.  We  know  better!  Come  to  my  arms  and 
let  us  fly  somewhere  away  from  the  world  where 
we  can  love  one  another  forever  with  no  one  by!" 

Thoroughly  convinced  that  I  had  a  mad  woman 
to  deal  with  I  was  dodging  her  arms  and  sidling 
this  way  and  that.  I  made  a  rapid  calculation.  By 
making  a  furious  run  as  far  as  the  entrance,  I 
reckoned  I  would  have  time  to  take  an  ordinary 
pace  as  far  as  the  first  corner  before  she  would 
reach  the  door.  Then  I  could  bolt  again.  With 
this  idea  in  mind  I  had  sidled  about  the  columns 
until  I  finally  got  her  between  me  and  the  altar, 
and  then  I  started.  I  had  made  about  three  bounds 
when  I  was  arrested  by  a  peal  of  laughter  which 
echoed  and  re-echoed  strangely,  seeming  to  come 
from  a  dozen  different  directions.  I  stopped,  stumb- 
ling and  sliding  on  my  feet,  and  looked  back  at 
her.  She  was  doubled  up,  and  between  laughs  was 
beckoning  me  to  return.  I  went  back  to  her.  As 

67 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  returned,  her  laugh  died  out  and  her  face  re- 
sumed its  owlish  severity. 

"Did  you  think  me  such  a  fool,  Signer?  Look 
better!  Let  an  old  woman  have  her  joke,  and 
be  not  offended." 

"By  all  means!    Even  more  if  you  like." 

"I  have  finished  joking.  Now  to  business.  What 
do  you  want?" 

"First,  my  good  lady,  who  are  you,  before  I 
give  you  my  confidence?" 

"All  very  well,  but  first,  who  are  you?  It  is 
mine  to  ask  first." 

"An  American  physician,  at  present  residing  in 
Vienna,  here  on  a  summer  outing, — one  who  can 
give  good  references." 

"A  doctor.     Hum!     They  are  never  rich!" 

"Because  their  patients  never  pay  if  they  can 
help  it.  I  am  neither  rich  nor  poor." 

"Ah,  well — what  do  you  want?" 

"I  wish  to  meet  and  know  your  mistress — she  is 
your  mistress,  isn't  she? — the  Signorina  Portulan." 

She  looked  at  me  steadfastly  without  reply. 

"Will  you  help  me?" 

"I'll  think  it  over.    Are  you  in  love  with  her?" 

"Little  doubt  of  that !" 

"With  her,  or  her  wealth?" 

"I  did  not  know  she  was  rich,  or  is  to  be,  when 
I  first  saw  and  loved  her." 

"Hum!     You  wish  to  marry  her?" 

"Forgive  me,  I'd  rather  talk  that  over  with  her. 
Now,  please,  who  are  you?" 

"A  servant,  but  a  little  more,  I  believe.  Her  nurse 
when  she  was  a  child.  Her  personal  maid  now — 
also  her  only  real  friend — here." 

"Will  you  help  me?" 

vWhat  will  you  give  me  if  I  do?" 
68 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  am  not  more  honest  than  other  men,  nor  do 
I  have  finer  feelings;  but  there  was  some  survival 
of  delicacy,  decency,  sestheticism,  or  whatever  you 
please,  away  back  in  my  mind,  which  sprang  up 
in  revolt  against  bribing  my  way  to  Gisela's  ac- 
quaintance. Moreover  self-respect  argued  that  it 
ought  not  to  be  necessary.  Gisela  was  a  beautiful 
woman,  but  she  was  no  princess  or  arch-duchess's 
daughter,  and  socially  was  my  equal;  not  a  su- 
perior. My  temper  rose  a  little.  Besides,  it  is 
never  well  to  be  in  a  servant's  power. 

"Not  a  heller !  Not  a  thing  in  the  world  except 
my  thanks.  I  will  not  meet  your  mistress  through 
bribery!" 

The  old  woman  bent,  took  my  hand  and  kissed 
it.  Then  she  spoke  again  with  far  less  owlishness, 
and  much  more  respect. 

"Forgive  me,  Signor.  I  see  you  are  not  like  the 
men  here.  I  could  be  rich  by  now  if  I  had  brought 
to  my  mistress  all  the  men  who  have  offered  to 
pay  me.  Nevertheless,  I  have  never  done  it — 
yet.  If  you  had  offered  me  money,  I  would  never 
let  you  meet  her  if  I  could  help  it." 

She  studied  me  again  a  moment. 

"But  I  must  know  something  more.  I  asked  you 
if  you  want  to  marry  her.  Signor,  young  men  do 
not  always  think  of  marriage  when  they  love  a 
girl!" 

Now  her  eyes  fairly  burned  into  mine.  They  al- 
most scorched;  and  they  brought  more  light  to 
me  as  to  what  this  old  retainer  was. 

"Signora,  I  could  never  wish  anything  but  mar- 
riage from  your  mistress  given  that  I  still  love  her 
after  I  come  to  know  her.  I  must  know  her  first 
— must  at  least  know  the  tones  of  her  voice,  before 
I  ask  marriage  of  her,  but  it  will  be  either  marriage 
69 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

or  honest  friendship.  I'll  never,  knowingly  offend 
her,  or  ever  say  anything  in  her  presence  that  her 
own  mother  could  not  hear !" 

"Her  mother  will  hear  all  you  ever  say  to  her,  for 
she  is  among  the  Saints,  and  They  know  all  we  say 
and  do !  Signor,  does  your  mother  live  ?" 

"No,  she  is  also  gone." 

"Signor,  swear  by  the  memory  of  your  mother, 
who  now  hears  us  both,  that  you,  never  in  your 
lifetime,  will  ever  say  or  do  a  dishonorable  thing  to 
my  child !" 

"With  all  my  heart!  By  the  memory  of  my 
mother,  I  swear  it !" 

Her  face  changed  completely.  The  tears  came, 
and  the  longing  yearning  look  that  came  over  it 
proved  clearly  enough  that  she  did  look  upon  her 
mistress  as  "her  child."  I  saw  that  she  was  one 
of  those  faithful  retainers  which  are  sometimes 
found  in  old  European  families  and  of  which  we, 
in  America,  wot  not  of ;  aye,  that  she  was  even 
more  than  a  faithful  retainer;  and  my  feelings  for 
her  underwent  the  corresponding  change.  She  ad- 
dressed me  again. 

"Signor,  there  is  much  to  tell  you,  but  it  will 
keep  until  the  Signorina  herself  can  talk  to  you. 
For  the  present — you  shall  have  your  wish.  I 
would  not  do  it  even  now,  but  the  Signorina  has 
seen  and  liked  you,  and  I  will  help  her  to  anything 
she  wishes  that  is  her  right,  and  is  for  her  good. 
But  do  not  trifle  with  her.  Young  men  may  be 
honest  and  honorable,  but  still  do  great  harm,  more 
harm  than  they  know  or  guess,  by  trifling.  She 
has  never  cared  for  a  man,  and  when  she  does,  it 
will  be  with  her  whole  heart  and  for  her  lifetime. 
Promise  me  that  you  will  not  trifle,  too!" 

"Girls  also  trifle,  Signora." 
70 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"It  does  not  hurt  a  man." 

"You  cannot  always  know.  A  man  buries  such 
things,  but  they  often  gnaw  and  gnaw,  and  spoil 
all  that  is  good  in  him.  Never  mind.  I  promise 
to  be  always  in  earnest,  whatever  I  do." 

"And  I  promise  for  the  Signorina  that  she  will 
never  trifle  with  you.  That  promise  is  easy!  I 
know  her.  Come,  then  !" 

This  conversation  had  occurred  near  the  altar- 
screen.  The  woman  led  the  way  down  the  nave 
to  the  center  of  the  church  and  came  to  a  stand- 
still beside  a  column ;  turned  and  faced  me  once 
more,  now  with  her  former  quizzical  look  but  with- 
out its  owlishness. 

"Did  you  fall  in  love  with  my  mistress  yesterday 
in  church?" 

"Oh,  no — days  before  that — when  I  first  saw 
her." 

"When  was  that?" 

"St.  John's  evening.  She  was  on  the  shore  at 
Dobrota,  and  I  was  in  a  boat,  out  on  the  gulf." 

"Jesus,  Mary  and  J — !  And  you  loved  her 
then?  Why,  how  could  you  see  what  she  was? 
And  did  you  gather  seeds  of  the  fern  on  that  day 
in  order  to  be  able  to  read  our  thoughts?" 

"I  saw  her  well  enough  to  love  her!  What  do 
you  mean  by  gathering  the  seed  of  the  fern?" 

"Never  mind!  It  is  dangerous  knowledge. 
Leave  it  to  the  wretched  Morlachs.  Now,  really, 
Signer,  you  fall  in  love  easily!  Would  not  some 
other  girl  do  you  as  well?  Say  one  fifty-four 
years  old  like  me  ?  As  I  told  you,  we  know  how !" 

"It  might  have  been,  Signora ;  but  you  see,  I  saw 
your  mistress  before  I  saw  you." 

She  laughed  again,  and  following  her  eyes,  I 
saw  a  portion  of  a  skirt  which  had  escaped  the  shel- 


The    A  c  c  u  r  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ter  of  the  column  nearest  us.  Finding  that  she  was 
discovered,  she  came  from  behind  the  column,  still 
full  of  laugh,  but  also  a  little  shamefacedly.  Her 
naturally  high  color  was  still  higher,  more  so  than 
the  heat  outside  warranted,  and  as  she  slowly  came 
up  to  us  her  eyes  sought  her  hands.  As  she  came  up 
to  us,  she  gave  me  one  quick  look  and  started  as 
if  to  retreat,  but  the  woman  spoke  to  her  in  Italian 
and  she  stopped,  half-turned  away  from  me. 

The  pretty  little  mouth  was,  after  all,  a  rather 
firm  one.  You  did  not  see  much  of  the  upper  lip 
and  the  lower  one  was  a  very  little  full.  The  ear, 
like  a  tiny  warm-white  shell  peeped  out  from  be- 
hind intensely  black  hair,  the  last  being  dressed 
widely  at  the  sides  and  piled  high  on  the  back  of 
her  head.  It  encroached  by  its  growing  roots  far 
forward  upon  her  temples  toward  the  eyebrows. 
She  wore  no  hat. 

The  cheek  and  neck  were  a  symphony  in  brown- 
ish cream  and  rose,  and  the  shapely  little  chin  was 
trembling.  The  little  nose  had  just  a  slight  fullness 
at  the  tip,  but  was  so  delicate  and  harmonized  so 
well  with  her  dainty  profile  that  this  was  far  from 
being  a  fault.  But  I  wanted  to  see  her  eyes;  and 
besides,  I  must,  somehow,  end  this  moment  of 
embarrassment  if  I  did  not  wish  her  actually  to  run 
from  the  place.  I  turned  to  the  woman. 

"Does  the  Signorina  speak  German?" 

"Oh,  yes,  she  speaks  it  well.  She  is  teased  just 
now,  but  she  will  talk  enough  later1  on — never 
fear!" 

"Not  as  much  as  you  teased  me  yesterday  and 
to-day." 

I  saw  from  the  corner  of  my  eye  that  Gisela 
joined  in  our  laugh. 

"You  deserved  it,  Signer,  for  being  so  'dumb'!" 
72 


"She  came  from  behind  the  Column." 
(Accitrsed   Roccos.) 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Yes  I  was  'dumb,'  but  that  was  from  being  too 
anxious.  If  I  knew  women  better,  I  would  have 
been  readier  to  see  my  chance." 

"The  Signer  does  not  know  women,  then?" 

"Almost  not  at  all." 

The  woman  scoffed. 

"Ah!  The  Signer  does  not  know  women  and 
lives  to-day!  Well,  you  and  the  Signorina  belong 
together !  I  had  to  plan  for  her  yesterday.  I  even 
wrote  the  note  for  her.  She  would  have  looked  at 
you  and  gone  home  again;  next  time  looked,  and 
gone  home.  This  was  too  slow  for  me." 

"It  would  have  been  too  slow  for  me,  too!"  I 
answered  laughing.  Then  I  turned  to  the  girl. 

"Signorina,  I  first  saw  you  St.  John's  day — in 
the  evening,  from  a  boat  in  the  gulf — and  I  have 
been  determined  to  meet  and  know  you  ever  since 
that  moment." 

Her  eyes  were  upon  me  now — she  looked  me 
straightly  and  frankly  in  the  face. 

Her  eyes  would  have  made  her  beautiful  if  she 
had  not  had  another  claim  to  comeliness.  Brown, 
straight  and  frank  in  their  glance,  set  within  lids 
straight  from  side  to  side.  One  feature  which  ren- 
dered the  eyes  so  specially  beautiful  was  the  fact 
that  the  overhang  of  the  upper  lid  just  cut,  with 
its  lowest  line  of  contour,  the  outer  middle  of  the 
edge  of  the  upper  lid.  This  feature  gave  the  eyes 
a  certain  appeal — even  sadness,  when  in  repose,  an 
effect  further  emphasized  by  the  little  blunt  up- 
ward points  formed  a  little  past  the  middle  of  the 
delicate  brows.  The  forehead  was  wide  and  the 
face  tapered  to  the  chin  in  a  full  oval,  but  without 
any  of  the  lunkiness  of  the  lower  jaw  which  so 
often  spoils  an  otherwise  beautiful  Italian  face. 
Just  a  depression  in  the  chin  where  a  dimple  might 
73 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

have  been,  and  the  lights  and  shadows  about  the 
jolly  yet  firm  little  mouth  with  the  perceptible  ten- 
dency of  the  lower  lip  to  pout — 'all  made  a  pic- 
ture of  young  womanly  loveliness,  that,  once  seen, 
is  not  to  be  forgotten. 

But  at  my  address  her  face  brightened,  the  eyes 
opened  wider  and  the  lips  parted  in  a  laugh  which 
permitted  the  sight  of  two  lines  of  perfect  teeth. 

"I  saw  you,  too,"  Gisela  answered,  "but  not  very 
well.  But  I  knew  it  was  you  when  I  saw  you  yes- 
terday." 

"Signorina,  I  fear  I  stared  at  you  most  discourte- 
ously yesterday,  but" 

"Oh,  she  is  used  to  that,"  broke  in  the  serving- 
woman  cynically. 

"Yes,  they  always  turn  and  look  at  me  when 
I  go  on  the  streets." 

This  was  uttered  without  a  suspicion  of  egotism, 
— without  a  sign  of  a  smirk  or  simper,  only  in 
naive  half-wonderment  that  it  should  be  so. 

"Yes,  of  course.  Whoever  sees  you,  Signorina, 
must  stare  more  or  less.  But  no  doubt  the  young 
men  here  would  have  managed  more  neatly  than 
I  fear  I  did.  Allow  me  to  apologize,  Signorina." 

"You  did  stare!"  said  Gisela,  laughing,  "but  I 
was  not  angry,  Signor,  otherwise  I  would  not  be 
here.  You  looked  at  me  differently  from  most  men, 
Signor.  Women  do  not  have  to  grow  old  to  know 
if  a  man's  stare  be  offensive  or  not,  and  if  the 
look  be  an  honest  admiring  one,  why — well, — are 
we  not  here  to  be  admired?" 

"Emphatically,  yes!"  (The  laugh  simply  could 
not  be  kept  back.) 

"Besides,  I— returned  it,  did  I  not?" 

Again  her  face  took  on  a  higher  color  and  she 
half  turned  away.  She  was  attired  in  a  very  simply 
74 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

but  very  well  made  dress  of  rough  yellow  silk, 
was  well  corsetted  and  booted,  and  her  full,  fine 
figure  was  well  displayed  in  this  attitude.  She 
was  neither  too  big  nor  too  little,  and  was  an  un- 
studied picture  of  natural  grace,  such  as  the  open 
outdoor  life  of  Dalmatia  is  sure  to  produce  in 
those  blessed  by  fine  health. 

"I  wish  I  could  trade  stares  with  you  every  day !" 

Her  laugh  rang  out  again  like  a  silver  bell. 

"Better  only  Sundays — then  you  won't  grow 
weary  of  the  pastime." 

"But,  gracious,  Signorina!  I  don't  live  in  Cat- 
taro !" 

"Move  here,  then." 

"Ah,  Signorina.  After  all,  you  are  like  other 
girls.  There  is  no  limit  to  what  they  will  ask." 

"Are  all  girls  like  that?" 

"Every  one!" 

"I  thought  you  said  you  knew  girls  almost  not 
at  all !" 

"I  think  I  said  I  did  not  know  women.  I  said 
nothing  about  girls." 

"And  what  is  the  difference  between  girls  and 
women,  then?" 

"Girls  demand  without  limit;  women  command 
within  limits." 

She  danced  a  step. 

"Caught  again!  After  all,  your  ignorance  of 
women  also,  does  not  seem  irreparable !" 

"Alas !  You  merely  happened  to  ask  the  one  thing 
I  happened  to  know." 

"Very  sorry.  I  would  not  have  thought,  from 
your  face,  that  your  life  had  been  so  hard,  that 
you  would  only  know  that  about  them.  You  bear 
troubles  well,  Signor!  But  you  are  still  young — 
you  can  learn  more." 

75 


The    Accursed    Roc  cos 

"I  could  ask  no  better  teacher  than  you,  Signor- 
ina.  Will  you  undertake  it?" 

The  woman  discreetly  moved  away,  saying  she 
would  watch  at  the  entrance.  The  girl  again  looked 
me  straight  in  the  face  with  her  lovely  half-sad 
eyes.  I  had  not  supposed  I  should  make  love  to 
her  to-day — had  hardly  expected  the  opportunity, 
in  fact.  But  we  seldom  can  make  our  opportuni- 
ties for  love-making  and  it  might  be  a  good  while 
before  I  should  see  her  thus,  alone,  again." 

"Undertake  to  teach  you  of  girls  and  women? 
Nay,  Signor,  that  is  a  lesson  for  men  to  learn  by 
themselves,  without  instruction,  from  the  alphabet- 
blocks  themselves.  I  am  only  one  block — one  let- 
ter." 

"Let  me  learn  that  letter,  then,  and  the  rest  may 
go  hang." 

She  tried  to  draw  away  her  hand,  but  I  was  hold- 
ing it  in  both  of  mine,  and  two  against  one  is  su- 
perior force.  She  gave  it  up.  It  was  a  dear  little 
warm  hand. 

"Signorina,  let  me  know  you.  May  I  not  come 
and  see  you  at  your  home  ?" 

She  gave  a  frightened  little  jump. 

"Come  to  our  house!"  she  exclaimed.  "Oh,  Sig- 
ner, you  do  not  understand.  My  uncle  will  never 
allow  that.  I  am  never  allowed  to  have  company. 
Only  old  friends  of  the  family." 

"I  can  furnish  good  letters  of  introduction,  Sig- 
norina." 

"That  will  avail  nothing.    You  do  not  understand, 
Signor." 

I  did  understand,  and  was  little  surprised. 

"Signorina,  do  you  know  I  love  you?" 

She  turned  once  more  and  looked  me  full  in 
the  face. 

76 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Ah,  Signer,  that  is  so  lightly  said!  You  cannot 
mean  it — yet!" 

"I  love  you,  Signorina,  and  I  can  never  love  any- 
one but  you,  now!" 

"How  long  since  you  said  that  the  last  time?  As 
much  as  a  week?" 

"I  have  never  said  it  before,  nor  shall  I  ever  say 
it  again  to  anybody  but  you,  Signorina." 

"Ah,  Signor,  I  did  not  expect  this  would  go  so 
far  at  our  very  first  meeting.  You  must  not  talk 
to  me  of  love — yet.  You  must  better  know  what 
you  are  doing.  You  do  not  understand,  Signor." 

I  did,  or  thought  I  did,  and  was  burning  to  tel) 
her  so  and  to  argue  the  possibility  of  managing  her 
uncle.  But  of  course  any  mention  of  her  prop- 
erty at  this  first  meeting  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
It  might  have  caused  a  misunderstanding  that  could 
never  be  remedied.  For  now  1  had  to  let  it  pass 
so. 

"How  am  I  to  see  you,  then  ?" 

"Our  meetings  will  have  to  be  stolen  ones  and  we 
will  have  to  be  very  secret.  If  my  uncle  were  to 
find  out  that  I  met  you  here  to-day  he  would  put 
me  into  a  convent,  perhaps  never  to  come  out 
again." 

She  shivered. 

"Signor,  I  have  never  looked  at  men  before.  Of 
course  I  know  that  men  admire  me  and  turn  and 
look  after  me,  but  I  have  never  cared  enough  be- 
fore to  risk  uncle's  anger." 

"Have  you  ever  been  threatened  with  a  con- 
vent ?" 

"Often!" 

Yes,  I  told  myself,  I  understood  very  well !  Nor 
did  I  regard  her  fears  as  groundless.  It  would  be 
a  perfectly  possible  and  practical  means  for  old 
77  ' 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Tomanovich  to  use.  It  has  been  done,  often 
enough.  Knowing  her  own  situation  as  she  did, 
this  girl  had  run  a  serious  risk  indeed  in  meeting 
me.  The  thought  was  uplifting. 

"Can  you  always  depend  upon  your  servant, 
there?" 

"Oh,  yes.  Teresa  was  my  nurse  when  I  was  a 
baby  and  has  always  been  with  me.  She  is  a 
Morlach,  but  I  do  not  fear  her  faithfulness  an  in- 
stant. She  is  more  to  me  than  a  servant.  She  has 
been  the  one  person  in  the  world  to  whom  I  could 
go!" 

"She  can  be  our  messenger,  then." 

"Certainly.  But,  Signer,  never  let  any  one  in 
Cattaro  see  you  address  her!" 

"I  shall  remember.  Signorina,  I  shall  at  least 
try  to  come  to  your  house.  No,  child,  1  mean  as 
a  regularly  introduced  guest  who  is  not  supposed 
ever  to  have  seen  you.  I  shall  manage  safely  or 
not  at  all.  But  perhaps  it  will  turn  out  that  you 
are  right  and  I  cannot  do  so.  In  that  case,  as  you 
say,  our  meetings  must  be  stolen  ones.  Now  we 
cannot  risk  many  stolen  meetings — I  cannot  see 
you  every  day  or  two  that  way,  and,  besides,  the 
day  will  soon  come  when  I  must  go  back  to  Vienna. 
Well,  then,  Signorina,  we  must  not  unnecessarily 
waste  the  time  we  do  have  together.  I  have  loved 
you  from  the  first — from  St.  John's  night  when  I 
saw  you  by  the  light  of  a  beach  fire.  I  want  you  to 
be  my  own  little  wife.  Between  the  times  we  shall 
meet  you  must  try  to  make  up  your  mind  if  you  can 
love  me — and  marry  me.  If  you  will  be  my  wife 
then  all  will  be  well.  Then  we  can  defy  anybody." 

Her  face  went  red  and  white  by  turns  and  her 
eyes  grew  wide  and  bright  as  she  fairly  drank  in 
what  was  said.  She  looked  me  long  in  the  eyes, 

78 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

and  gave  me  her  other  hand.  Then  her  face  went 
jlown  and  her  figure  seemed  to  droop.  She  sighed 
wearily. 

"Oh,  Signor,  you  do  not  understand.  I  will  tell 
you  how  things  are  soon,  but  I  haven't  the  heart 
to  do  it  now.  Also  we  have  been  here  already  too 
long.  Ingenieur  Overmann,  who  is  to  marry  my 
cousin,  and  my  uncle  are  coming  over  for  Teresa 
and  me,  and  they  may  have  arrived.  I  must  go 
now." 

"Gisela,  do  you  not  have  something — just  one  lit- 
tle word — to  say  to  me — when  I  tell  you  I  love 
you?" 

Her  head  went  down  again.    Silence. 

"Not  one — just  one — little  word?" 

Her  head  remained  down  and  her  little  boot  ner- 
vously dug  at  the  pavement. 

"Alas,  Signor,  what  shall  I  say?  Shall  I  say  I 
love  you?  I  do  not  know  yet  if  I  do,  and  until  I 
do  know,  that  would  be  a  lie." 

Then  she  looked  me  frankly  in  the  face. 

"I  ought  to  be  married  by  now,  Signor.  I  am 
twenty-one — yes,  actually.  I  know  I  do  not  look 
it — and  that  is  an  old  maid  in  Dalmatia.  Nearly  all 
of  my  girl  friends  are  married.  But  I  have  never 
loved  anybody  yet,  nor  admired  any  man  enough 
to  make  it  worth  while  to  defy  my  uncle.  He,  on 
his  side,  has  never  urged  me  to  marry,  nor  tried 
to  make  a  marriage  for  me  as  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  my  friends  have  done.  You  are  the 
first  man  I  have  ever  met  without  uncle's  knowl- 
edge." (Here  she  drew  away  as  far  as  her  impris- 
oned hands  would  permit  and  looked  at  me  from 
an  averted  face.)  "I  have  risked  much  to  come — 
no  common  risk,  Signor.  You  may  think  I  am  talk- 
ing only  of  the  risk  of  a  scolding  and  being  shut 

79 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

up  as  a  bad  girl  for  a  day  or  two — but  it  is  more 
than  that.  In  coming  here  to  meet  you  I  have  run 
a  graver  risk  than  you  dream  of.  That  is — an 
answer — to  your  love  making,  Signer.  I  cannot 
yet  say  I  love  you.  But — I  am  here — and  I — 
mean  to  come  again;  that  is — if  you — want  me  to." 

But  she  suddenly  wrested  her  hands  loose  before 
I  could  make  good  the  intention  which  the  witch 
surely  read  in  my  eye.  She  danced  a  few  feet 
away  and  smilingly  watched  me. 

"Signer,  when  you  hold  your  arms  out  that  way, 
you  look  like  you  were  preparing  to  take  a  dive!" 

I  took  a  dive  at  her,  but  had  not  reckoned  with 
her  fleetness.  I  nearly  caught  her  in  the  front  cor- 
ner of  the  church  but  she  suddenly  said  in  a  tense 
whisper : 

"Stop!  There  comes  the  priest!" 

I  looked  around,  but  saw  no  one.  Now  she  had 
reached  the  church  door,  and  having  joined  her 
laughing  duenna,  was  merrily  waving  me  adieux. 
At  the  door  she  looked  out,  and  then  backward  over 
her  shoulder.  Then  the  pretty  hand  waved  me  a 
kiss ;  and  she  was  gone,  leaving  behind  only  the 
echoes  of  silvery  laughter  flying  about  among  the 
tall  columns  of  the  empty  cathedral. 


CHAPTER  VII 

"Do  you  ever  play  the  violin  any  more,  Ed?" 

The  question  came  from  Harry.  We  were  sit- 
ting, two  evenings  later,  under  the  oleanders  in  the 
garden  of  the  Dojmi,  after  a  long  sight-seeing  trip 
around  the  gulfs,  which  had  consumed  the  entire 
day. 

"You  know  very  well,  Harry,  that,  compared  to 
you,  I  never  played  at  all." 

"Compared  to  me  you  played  less,  it  is  true.  But 
I  remember  you  as  one  of  the  better  pupils  of  our 
old  master  at  home.  Do  you  remember  the  day 
you  smashed  your  violin  over  my  head?" 

I  laughed  at  the  long-forgotten  boyish  quarrel. 

"Yes!  And  I  jolly  well  remember  the  licking 
the  old  Dutchman  gave  me  for  it,  too!" 

"You  deserved  it.  A  violin  is  not  an  instrument 
wherewith  to  break  heads.  Have  you  laid  playing 
aside  since  then?" 

"For  some  years.  I  still  tried  to  play  a  little  un- 
til I  had  to  choose  between  it  and  medicine.  And 
then  violin  playing  had  to  go." 

"Pity.  A  doctor  ought  to  have  at  least  one  other 
interest  besides  medicine;  then  he  would  not  have 
to  choose  between  talking  disgusting  shop  and  be- 
ing a  clam  when  invited  out  to  dinner." 

I  did  not  like  this.  We  seldom  do  enjoy  a  home 
thrust,  and  I  was  still  young  enough  in  medicine  to 
have  some  esprit  de  corps. 

"Do  the  long-haired  Johnnies  never  talk  shop, 
then?" 

"They  are  not  all  long-haired.  Don't  get  huffy, 
81 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

my  son.  Smooth  your  ruffled  feathers  with  one 
of  these  good  Montenegrin  cigarettes.  I  saw  the 
Ingenieur  in  town  day  before  yesterday." 

"Day  before  yesterday!     At  what  time?" 

"In  the  afternoon." 

Now  I  remembered  that  Gisela  had  said  he  was 
coming  over. 

"How  comes  it  you  didn't  mention  this  before?" 

"Didn't  know  you  would  care  specially.  Besides 
I  had  forgotten  the  circumstance.  Having  your 
experience  in  mind,  I  did  not  give  him  a  chance 
either  to  address  or  snub  me." 

"Where  did  you  see  him?" 

"Coming  out  of  the  bank; — Sbutega's." 

"Just  what  hour,  Harry?" 

"Why,  what  ails  you,  boy?  Sometime  between 
three  and  four  o'clock." 

I  fell  back  in  my  chair,  relieved.  If  he  had 
been  in  the  bank  at  that  hour  he  had  not  been  spy- 
ing. 

The  possibility  of  the  Ingenieur  being  a  factor, 
or  becoming  one,  in  my  affairs  had  occurred  to  me 
more  than  once.  He  was  to  marry  the  cousin  who 
would  inherit  if  Gisela  did  not.  His  interest  was, 
therefore,  involved,  and  unfavorably,  in  any  future 
success  on  my  part.  I  wondered,  in  passing,  why 
he  had  not  made  up  to  Gisela  herself.  I  could 
not  estimate  how  far  the  property  consideration 
went  with  him,  but  I  assumed,  from  my  knowledge 
of  European  marriages,  that  it  was,  probably,  the 
principal  factor.  Of  course,  no  more  than  my- 
self, would  he  have  the  uncle's  countenance  in  a 
suit  for  Gisela's  hand,  and  I  assumed  that  he  had 
taken  the  next  best  chance,  i.e.,  Lubitza.  Or  had  he 
really  preferred  Lubitza?  There  is  no  account- 
ing for  taste,  and  maybe  she  had  appealed  to  him 

82 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

more  than  Gisela.  I  could  not  solve  the  riddle. 
Still  the  combination  troubled  me,  and  I  decided 
to  acquaint  Harry  with  all  the  facts,  even  includ- 
ing at  least  the  circumstance  that  I  had  had  an  in- 
terview with  Signorina  Portulan.  It  would  be  bet- 
ter for  Harry  to  know  the  whole  thing. 

He  listened  to  my  low-toned  account  of  the  con- 
versation with  the  banker  with  all  the  attention  I 
could  have  asked.  He  asked  me  a  question  or  two, 
and  then  considered  it,  meanwhile  drumming  on 
the  table  and  whistling  between  his  teeth.  Finally 
he  said: 

"I  did  not  like  this  thing  in  the  beginning,  and 
I  like  it  less  now.  But  you  have  gone  too  far  to 
retreat.  I  think  this  thing  is  going  to  end  up  in  a 
jolly  fight  of  some  kind,  and  I  am  with  you,  my 
son.  Just  tell  me  in  which  alley  it  is  to  come  off, 
and  I'll  be  there." 

I  had  not  expected  to  make  a  convert  of  him. 

"Glad  to  hear  that,  old  boy!" 

"Of  course  it  would  have  been  better  not  to 
have  gone  into  this  in  the  first  place.  But  you  are 
in  now,  and  now  it  is  a  question  of  winning  out. 
I'm  with  you, — anyway  I  can  help." 

We  shook  hands.  Hardly  the  action  ceased 
when  we  were  hailed  by  a  jovial  voice. 

"What  ho !     What  solemn  pact  is  being  sealed  ?" 

It  was  the  Ingenieur.  Harry  and  I  both  stood 
up,  nonplussed.  Not  having  expected  such  a  con- 
tingency we  had  not  provided  for  it.  Harry  was 
first  to  recover  his  presence  of  mind,  though  not 
without  keeping  the  Ingenieur's  extended  hand  wait- 
ing a  perceptible  interval.  I  bowed  gravely  with- 
out offering  my  hand,  but  as  he  extended  his,  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  take  it  with  the  best  grace 
I  could  command. 

83 


The    A  c  c  u  r  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  saw  you  yesterday,  Herr  McClellan,  but  you 
were  at  a  distance  and  I  was  in  a  hurry  then.  I 
inquired  this  morning  if  you  came  here  and  they 
told  me  you  both  were  here  every  night.  So  I  am 
here." 

The  words  were  jovially  spoken,  as  was  his  wont. 
I  almost  believed  he  really  had  not  seen  me  that 
day  across  the  gulf. 

"Ed  saw  you  last  week  in  Perzagno,"  remarked 
Harry. 

I  wished  he  had  not  mentioned  it,  but  nothing 
else  being  possible,  upon  the  Ingenieur's  request,  I 
related  the  circumstance.  It  only  gave  him  a 
chance  to  put  me  in  the  wrong,  which  he  promptly 
did. 

"Well,  well !  I  call  that  shabby  of  you,  Herr 
Doktor!  You  must  have  seen  that  I  did  not  see 
you.  You  could  have  spoken." 

The  retort  was  obvious,  of  course,  but  I  re- 
frained. 

"It  did  not  seem  to  be  a  favorable  or  fitting  op- 
portunity for  doing  so.  You  were  very  much  en- 
gaged in  conversation."  I  uttered  the  words  pretty 
stiffly  I  think. 

"Oh,  you  Americans  are  as  bad  as  the  English 
with  your  formalities  and  proprieties.  An  Aus- 
trian friend  would  not  have  allowed  me  to  pass 
so.  My  attention  was  very  much  engaged  just 
then,  it  is  true;  but  I  always  have  time  for  my 
friends,  no  matter  how  occupied,  military  duties 
alone  excepted.  Now  I  understand  why  you  fel- 
lows were  so  stiff  when  I  came  up.  Since  I  have 
offended,  although  unintentionally,  I  offer  my  best 
apologies,  gentlemen." 

Harry  seemed  convinced,  besides,  it  would  have 
been  unmodern  to  have  been  behind  him  in  cour- 
84 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

tesy.  Furthermore,  I  admitted  to  myself  at  once 
that  I  would  have  been  convinced,  were  it  not  for 
his  connection  with  my  affair,  and  I  argued  that 
he,  on  his  side,  did  not  know  of  that  yet.  I  ended 
by  being  partly  convinced,  and  after  a  few  mo- 
ments the  acquaintance  of  all  three  seemed  to  be 
on  the  old  footing  again.  After  another  word  or 
two  of  reproach  leveled  at  me  he  explained  himself. 

"When  I  left  you  at  Castel  Nuovo  I  meant  to  go 
on  to  Ragusa  next  morning ;  but  after  landing  I  re- 
ceived news  of  the  wedding  of  one  of  my  friends 
at  Dobrota,  together  with  the  word  that  further 
leave  had  already  been  obtained  for  me  from 
Trebinje.  That  is  how  I  come  to  be  still  here.  In 
the  past  few  days  I  have  been  kept  busy  by  my 
fiancee's  family.  She  lives  in  Perzagno.  I  was 
expecting  to  meet  her  and  her  father  in  Ragusa 
where  I  thought  they  were,  but  I  found  that  they 
also  had  returned  for  the  wedding.  My  fiancee  was 
with  me  when  you  saw  me,  Herr  Doktor." 

"Ah!  Now  I  understand  why  you  could  not  see 
anybody  else  just  then!  Forgive  my  doubts  of 
you !" 

"Just  so.  Now  all's  well."  And  we  shook  hands 
again. 

I  put  him  down  as  a  facile  and  accomplished  dal- 
lier  with  the  truth.  I  had  not  forgotten  the  back- 
ward look,  full  of  curiosity  with  which  his  fiancee 
had  favored  me,  nor  the  quick  turning  of  her  head 
when  she  saw  me  look  up.  And  they  were  not  con- 
versing as  they  had  passed  me.  But  perhaps  he 
meant  all  right  now,  and  with  that  thought  I  sank 
the  Perzagno  incident. 

"When  are  you  to  be  married?"  Harry  asked. 

"The  date  is  not  settled,"  he  answered,  brushing 
some  ashes  off  of  his  uniform.  "Probably  some 

85 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

time  next  year.  My  fiancee  is  still  young — only 
nineteen,  and  has  a  fine  voice.  She  wants  to  study 
singing  and  it  is  perhaps  better  that  she  try  her- 
self out  at  that  before  she  marry. 

"Has  her  voice  a  future?"  asked  Harry. 

"It  seems  so.  A  famous  Berlin  professor  was 
down  here  last  year  and  said  she  would  succeed  in 
opera." 

"You  may  lose  her  at  that  rate.  She  may  wed 
her  art." 

"Better  wed  her  art  first,"  he  answered  impertur- 
bably. 

"Then  you  are  going  to  give  her  the  choice?" 

"Certainly.  It  is  better  so.  An  artist  is  far  bet- 
ter off  single  than  married — at  any  rate,  until  suc- 
cess is  gained.  And  if  she  have  in  her  the  making 
of  an  artist  her  suitor  ought  to  be  unselfish  enough 
to  stand  aside — no  matter  how  much  he  may  want 
her.  Art  comes  first." 

"That  is  all  true,"  said  Harry. 

"Yes.  Besides,  in  this  day  "and  age,  and  above 
all,  among  artists  it  is  not  strictly  necessary  actu- 
ally to  marry  if  it  be  not  convenient." 

We  risked  no  comment  on  this. 

"What  have  you  two  been  doing  the  past  week  ?" 

Harry  gave  him  some  account  of  ourselves. 

"Montenegro !  Pah  !  I  am  astonished  that  you 
wasted  four  whole  days  there !  There  are  no  pretty 
women  in  Montenegro !  Besides,  they  have  a  dis- 
agreeable institution  known  as  the  vendetta/' 

"Well,  there  are  pretty  women  down  here,  at 
least." 

"Ho!  So  you  have  found  them,  have  you,  Sir 
Violinist?  I  was  expecting  to  help  you  in  that. 
Well,  perhaps  there  are  still  some  here  you  have 
86 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

not  seen  yet.  I  know  where  the  prettiest  birds 
twitter  here." 

"Come,  Herr  Ober-Leutnant,  you  are  trying  to 
lead  us  astray." 

"No  fear.  That  was  done  in  your  grandfather's 
time  I'll  wager,  Sir  Violinist!" 

"Well,  your  heritage  goes  still  further  back.  We'll 
have  no  show  while  you  are  around!" 

"Don't  despair.  There  is  no  accounting  for  taste. 
Speaking  of  that,  let  me  advise  you.  When  you 
find  a  girl  you  want  in  Dalmatia,  remember  that 
the  women  here  like  to  be  courted  by  a  man;  not 
by  another  woman  in  men's  clothes.  Your  high 
and  knightly  fol-de-rols,  soft  speaking  and  prating 
about  honor  will  be  lost  on  her.  She  will  be  won  by 
a  man  who  is  direct  in  his  methods  and  who  will 
not  wait  for  a  yes  or  no — who  literally  takes  her. 
She  would  rather  elope  than  marry  regularly,  any 
time.  And  now,  gentlemen,  I  must  be  going.  Be- 
fore I  go,  I  want  you  to  set  a  date  when  you  can 
come  over  to  luncheon,  I  bear  an  invitation  for 
you  from  my  prospective  father-in-law.  When 
can  you  come?  To-morrow?" 

Again  Harry  and  I  stared  at  one  another,  and 
again  it  was  Harry  who  first  recovered  himself. 
After  some  discussion,  the  following  day,  Thurs- 
day, was  set  for  our  coming,  and  we  accompanied 
the  Ingenieur  to  his  barque.  We  watched  him  out 
of  sight  on  the  moonlit  gulf,  and  answered  his 
jaunty  salutes  as  long  as  we  could  see  them.  Harry 
turned  on  me. 

"I  say,  Ed,  this  doesn't  chime  with  your  tale! — 
not  a  little  bit!" 

"I  have  to  admit  it!  Of  all  unexpected  things, 
that  invitation  was  a  bolt  from  the  bluest  blue !" 

87 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Well,  you  may  have  your  chance  now — and  the 
right  way." 

"We  shall  see.  Harry,  what  do  you  make  of  it? 
I  am  completely  in  a  fog." 

He  thought  it  over. 

"Why,  after  all,  it  seems  simple  enough.  The 
Ingenieur  and  his  prospective  father-in-law  know 
nothing,  as  yet,  about  your  infatuation  for  Miss 
Portulan,  nothing  about  your  having  met  her,  and 
therefore,  see  no  more  risk  in  inviting  us  to  the 
house,  than  would  be  the  case  with  any  other  peo- 
ple. And  the  Ingenieur  wishes  to  pay  us  a  cour- 
tesy. Then,  added  to  that,  maybe  they  mean  to  keep 
Miss  Portulan  out  of  sight  during  our  visit.  You 
noticed  that  the  Ingenieur  never  once  mentioned 
her." 

"But  I  know  perfectly  well  that  he  did  see  me 
that  day,  Harry." 

"If  you  are  right,  then  this  change  of  front 
would  be  very  curious,"  said  Harry,  thoughtfully, 
"but  I  think  he  didn't  see  you.  It  was  natural, 
wasn't  it,  that  his  attention  would  be  engaged  ra- 
ther with  his  fiancee  than  by  some  fellow  sitting 
by  the  roadside?" 

"Admittedly.  But  how  about  her  backward 
look?" 

"It  might  have  been  mere  curiosity,  and  her 
turning  her  head  when  you  looked  up  may  have 
been  a  mere  chance.  Who  shall  say  when  a  wom- 
an's head  shall  be  turned?" 

"Who,  indeed!"  I  answered,  laughing. 

"Also,  perhaps  the  banker  has  spoken  a  good 
word  for  you.  The  Ingenieur  was  in  there  Mon- 
day, you  remember." 

"No,  that  isn't  it.  Before  he  speaks  for  me,  the 
88 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  $ 

banker  will  wait  until  he  sees  my  letters,  so  that 
he  will  have  something  to  quote." 

"Well,  we  can  wait  and  see.  Meanwhile,  you 
have  obtained  the  very  thing  you  wanted.  Don't 
look  your  gift-horse  too  closely  in  the  mouth.  You 
can  try  his  gaits  and  if  you  don't  like  him  you  can 
jump  off  again." 

Which  shows  how  Harry  had  "flopped." 


89 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DURING  my  previous  visit  to  Perzagno  I  had  not 
dared  to  ask  where  Signer  Tomanovich  lived,  but 
had  inferred  that  his  residence  would  be  near  Le 
Tre  Sorelle.  This  might  have  been  any  one  of  sev- 
eral large  or  medium  sized  houses  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile.  I  was  therefore  surprised  to  find  that 
he  lived  in  an  unpretentious  but  commodious  and 
comfortable  looking  villa  well  up  on  the  hillside, 
rather  in  Donji  Stolivo  (lower  Stolivo)  than  in 
Perzagno  itself,  and  rather  far  away  from  the  old 
triple  house.  So  had  I  haunted  Perzagno,  for  a 
sight  of  Gisela,  I  would  have  had  my  trouble  for 
my  pains. 

The  Ingenieur  had  come  over  for  us.  As  we 
ascended  the  pathway  to  the  villa  we  saw  the  elder 
Tomanovich  and  a  young  man  coming  down  to 
meet  us. 

Notwithstanding  all  prejudices  the  old  man  im- 
pressed me  favorably  at  once.  He  seemed  to  have 
attended  the  same  old  school  of  courtesy  with  the 
banker.  Honor  us,  he  did,  as  he  met  us,  hat  in 
hand,  and  made  a  stately  bow.  He  also  was  a  very 
hale  old  man,  older  than  Signor  Sbutega,  probably, 
but  well  kept  and  vigorous.  He  was,  however,  dis- 
tinctly a  Slav — a  Servian,  having  little  Italian 
blood.  The  young  man  following  him  was  his  son, 
as  we  were  to  learn.  This  young  man  was,  as  men 
go,  a  handsome  human  being.  For  the  moment, 
I  had  no  further  opportunity  for  analysis. 

The  Ingenieur  made  the  introductions,  speaking 
in  German. 

90 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Ah,  Herr  Doktor  Ransome,  delighted  to  have 
you  honor  my  poor  house.  And  this  is  the  violin- 
ist who  will  fascinate  us  all  some  day?  Herr — 
M — M— .  Ah,  that  name  is  very  difficult.  You 
are  both  young  and  I  am  an  old  man.  I  shall  beg 
the  privilege  of  using  your  given  names.  What 
is  yours,  Signer?" 

"Henry.  But  my  good  friends  call  me  Harry.  I 
beg  you  to  use  the  same  version  with  my  other 
good  friends,  Signer." 

"Harry.  Thank  you,  Signor.  And  yours,  Herr 
Doktor?  E-du-ard?  Ah,  we  hear  that  one  among 
Europeans.  I  hope  I  shall  have  frequent  occa- 
sion to  use  these  names,  in  my  own  house,  and 
for  years  to  come.  But,  Signori,  forgive  me  for 
keeping  you  standing  in  the  heat.  Paulo,  go  on  in- 
to the  house  and  call  the  ladies  and  we  will  fol- 
low." ^ 

So  it  was  not  to  be  a  bachelor  party,  then.  He 
could  scarcely  have  the  face  to  keep  one  of  them 
upstairs.  I  was  relieved  at  once. 

"Where  have  you  studied,  Signor  Harry?  In 
Belgium  ?  By  the  way,  we  have  a  curious  old  fam- 
ily heirloom  which  will  be  sure  to  interest  you — 
but  more  of  that  later"  (turning  to  me).  Are  you 
also  a  musician?  No,  I  remember.  You  are  a 
follower  of  Galen.  A  noble  profession — when  in 
noble  hands — and  in  you  I  am  sure  it  will  have  a 
pillar  which  will  be  both  support  and  ornament. 
You  have  an  earnest  face." 

"Faces  were  made  to  conceal  character,  Signor." 

"Ah,  Doktor  Eduard,  you  have  adapted  that  quo- 
tation slightly." 

"Signor  Tomanovich/ 1  see  at  once  that  you 
have  been  a  wide  reader.  How  many  languages  do 
you  speak?" 

91 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"In  this  part  of  Europe  all  busy  people  must  be 
more  or  less  acquainted  with  a  half  dozen  tongues. 
In  my  young  days  we  Dalmatians  were  still  try- 
ing to  get  wealth  by  way  of  the  sea,  though  the 
gala  times  for  that  had  long  passed.  All  I  have 
left  of  those  days  is  a  practiced  speaking  appara- 
tus." 

"What  does  'gutes  Mundwerk'  mean,  Ed  ?"  asked 
Harry  in  English. 

"It  corresponds  to  'gift  of  gab'." 
"Justa  so,"  said  the  old  man,  "gift-a  gab." 
"Well,  it  stands  many  in  good  stead." 
"It  has  served  me  well.    After  you,  gentlemen!" 
We  had  come  to  the  entrance  of  the  long  low 
house,  of  two  stories  and  a  basement.     Having  as- 
cended the  short  flight  of  steps  leading  to  a  long 
wide  veranda,  we  entered  the  house.     A  young 
woman  came  to  meet  us,  and  I  recognized  Lubitza, 
the  Ingenieur's  fiancee. 

After  all,  I  had  to  admit  that  she  was  a  comely 
girl.  She  would  suffer  only  by  comparison  with 
such  a  royal  beauty  as  her  cousin.  Her  figure,  in 
its  way,  and  her  carriage  were  fully  as  fine,  but 
her  face  was  pretty  more  by  reason  of  youthful- 
ness  and  fine  health  than  by  its  lines.  Her  eyes 
were  not  round  and  level  but  almost  Oriental  in 
type.  Of  their  sort  the  eyes  were  fine.  The  chief 
fault  in  her  face  lie  in  a  certain  heaviness  of  that 
part  between  the  cheek  bones  and  the  angle  of  the 
jaw  which  made  her  forehead  seem  too  narrow — a 
fact  due  no  doubt  to  her  preponderance  of  Servian 
blood.  But  her  color  was  brilliant — as  much  so  as 
that  of  her  cousin,  and,  too,  there  was  a  certain 
curious  fleeting  resemblance  between  them,  only 
to  be  seen  at  one  or  two  angles  of  view,  although 
her  face  had  not  the  lovely  regularity  of  her 
92 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

cousin's.  However,  she  was  handsome,  and  I 
could  see  how  a  man  like  the  Ingenieur,  whose 
taste  would  be  rather  for  an  animal  than  an  intel- 
lectual type  of  womanly  comeliness  might  prefer 
her  to  Gisela.  I  was  not  sorry.  She  also  gave  us 
a  warm  greeting  and  seemed  to  look  at  me  with 
some  curiosity. 

"I  have  seen  you  before,  Herr  Doktor  Ransome. 
You  were  buried  in  a  book  or  something  by  the 
roadside." 

"Quite  right,  Signorina.  I  remember  you  better 
still." 

''Doctor,  it  is  not  memory  of  us  that  we  women 
prize ;  we  always  hope  rather  for  a  not  forgetting." 

"The  last  is  more  significant?"  asked  Harry. 
"Well,  that  always  lies  with  the  woman,  it  seems 
to  me.  She  cannot  control  our  remembering — but 
the  not  forgetting  requires  a  little  encouragement." 

"Well,  Signor  McClaylan,  I  shall  now  learn,  at 
last,  if  I  have  any  power.  For  if  I  have,  I  shall 
see  you  very  often." 

"I  say,"  said  the  Ingenieur,  jovially,  "that  won't 
do.  This  is  my  fiancee." 

"I  apologize." 

"Don't,"  said  the  girl.  "It  is  only  a  temporary 
arrangement.  Herr  Ober-Leutnant  is  engaged  to 
four  or  five  girls.  I  am  going  to  be  engaged  to  at 
least  ten  men  during  the  coming  year.  Gentlemen, 
my  mother." 

I  had  just  presence  of  mind  to  remember  to  kiss 
the  old  lady's  hand,  for  just  behind  her  stood 
Gisela.  It  was  a  difficult  moment  for  us  both.  I 
must  look  at  her  just  enough,  and  not  too  much,  as 
this  supposedly  first  meeting  justified. 

Happily,  there  was  not  much  pause,  and  still 
less  observation,  though  Paulo  eyed  us  both  as 
93 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

we  shook  hands.  The  bringing  in  of  very  welcome 
and  tempting  ices  gave  us  an  occupation  at  once. 
Harry  had  not  seen  Gisela  up  to  this  time,  and  as 
I  caught  his  expressive  eye,  I  read  approval  there. 
He  managed  to  say  in  an  undertone,  "At  last  I 
understand." 

Much  to  my  relief,  the  mother  appropriated  me 
at  once.  She  was  a  rather  hard  featured,  very 
quiet  woman,  and  I  found  it  difficult  to  talk  to  her, 
the  more  as  she  spoke  but  little  German,  and  my 
French  was  very  lame.  That,  however,  helped  to 
cover  my  embarrassment,  so  I  cheerfully  did  my 
best. 

"Luncheon  will  be  ready  in  about  an  hour,"  she 
informed  me.  Then  she  addressed  Gisela  in  Ital- 
ian, and  the  girl  disappeared. 

"I  have  told  my  niece  to  see  if  the  luncheon  is 
going  on  all  right.  Have  you  seen  something  of 
the  gulfs,  Herr  Doktor?" 

My  embarrassment  would  not  leave  me.  All 
were  so  jolly  and  kind  that  I  felt  guilty  of  an 
underhanded  proceeding.  I  wished  I  had  not  met 
Gisela  until  this  occasion.  I  was  finding  myself 
ashamed  of  my  suspicions  of  the  family  and  it  was 
only  by  constantly  calling  to  mind  the  earnest 
words  of  the  banker  and  the  fears  of  Gisela  her- 
self that  I  could  keep  these  suspicions  alive,  or  find 
any  justification  for  my  present  position.  For  ac- 
cording to  Austrian  law  Gisela  was  still  a  minor 
by  fully  three  years;  therefore  her  guardian  was 
still  responsible  for  her.  Surely,  as  her  guardian,  it 
had  been  his  duty  to  keep  her,  an  heiress,  out  of 
reach  of  adventurers,  even  to  the  length  of  threat- 
ening a  "convent."  I  was  sure  any  disinterested 
person  would  see  the  matter  in  that  light.  True,  I 
had  done  no  harm.  I  had  proposed  marriage  to 
94 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  $ 

her,  and  there  is  nothing  dishonorable  in  that,  to 
ever  so  young  a  girl.  But  I  wished  it  were  to  do 
over  again — here. 

But  Lubitza  called  a  halt  to  these  meditations. 
A  tiny  bouquet  struck  me  in  the  face. 

"Why  so  thoughtful,  Herr  Doktor?  Are  you 
making  a  diagnosis?" 

"No,  Signorina,  rather  conning  a  remedy." 

"I  hope  the  trouble  is  not  serious,"  she  mocked. 

"I'll  take  the  first  dose  now,"  and  I  pinned  the 
nosegay  on  the  lapel  of  my  coat. 

"Very  good,"  said  the  old  man.  "The  Doctor 
knows  the  flowers  and  plants  from  which  our  heal- 
ing as  well  as  much  of  our  pleasure  comes." 

"Our  remedies  do  not  all  come  from  plants,"  in- 
terposed the  Ingenieur.  "Perhaps  he  needs  an  ani- 
mal extract." 

"He  doesn't  look  like  he  needed  anything,"  said 
Lubitza.  "Herr  Doktor,  do  you  live  in  Vienna  ?" 

"Yes,  Signorina — for  the  present." 

"I  shall  go  there  soon — we'll  dance  together." 

"My  daughter  is  a  very  naughty  girl,"  said  the 
mother.  "Herr  Doktor,  if  you  would  pray  for  a 
great  good,  pray  that  you  may  never  have  daugh- 
ters to  bring  up." 

Lubitza  sprang  up,  gathered  her  mother  in  her 
arms,  and  willy-nilly  waltzed  a  step  with  her.  The 
Ingenieur  saved  the  table  from  an  upset.  The 
father  caught  both  wife  and  daughter  in  his  arms 
and  kissed  them.  Then,  still  holding  the  mother  in 
his  arms,  he  dramatically  said: 

"Gentlemen,  I  married  this  woman  over  thirty 
years  ago.  I  have  always  been  satisfied!" 

It  was  a  pretty  compliment,  and  the  mother's 
immobile  Slav  face  grew  rosy.  At  this  moment 
Gisela  came  in  and  announced  luncheon.  She  gave 
95 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

me  a  smile,  but  as  her  glance  fell  upon  the  nosegay 
the  smile  faded.  She  turned  and  left  the  room. 

"Oh-o,  Miss  Jealousy !"  called  out  Lubitza. 

We  filed  out  into  the  next  room  where  the  table 
was  set.  Gisela  leaned  out  of  a  window  and  plucked 
a  rosebud.  Then  she  came  to  me. 

"Take  off  those  weeds  and  put  on  this  1"  she  com- 
manded. 

"Herr  Doktor,  don't  you  dare!"  screamed  Lu- 
bitza. 

"If  you  don't,  I'll  never  look  at  you  again!" 

"Doktor,  if  you  do,  we'll  not  dance  together  in 
Vienna!" 

"I'll  take  both !" 

"No,  no!"  all  screamed  in  unison.  "That  won't 
do  at  all!" 

All  stood  around  ready  to  burst  with  laughter, 
looking  to  see  what  I  would  do  about  it. 

"Choose!" 

"I'll  take  both,  or  neither." 

"Ah,  I  have  been  sure  all  along  that  he  had 
Turkish  blood." 

"That  must  have  been  the  attraction,"  said 
Gisela.  Then  to  Lubitza:  "Well,  take  your  Turk!" 
And  she  threw  the  rosebud  out  of  the  window. 
"Where  is  your  harem?"  she  asked  me. 

"In  my  heart." 

"Crowded  quarters  I  fancy— especially  if  the 
many  there  quarrel!" 

"Ah,"  said  the  Ingenieur,  "there  are  four  rooms 
in  it,  and  by  the  law  of  the  Prophet  he  may  have 
four  wives.  It  is  well." 

"Stop  annoying  the  Doctor!    Let  us  be  seated." 

The  old  gentleman  showed  me  the  chair  on  his 
right.  Harry  was  given  the  mother's  right  hand. 
Lubitza  took  the  chair  on  her  mother's  left,  and 
96 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  Ingenieur  at  the  father's  left.  Thus  there  were 
two  empty  places  in  the  middle  of  each  side. 
Gisela  had  left  the  room. 

"My  son  begs  you  to  excuse  him,  gentlemen.  He 
has  an  imperative  engagement  at  Perzagno,  but  will 
return  as  soon  as  possible." 

So  now  I  wondered  if  Gisela  would  sit  beside 
me.  Evidently  yes,  as  the  Ingenieur  moved  away 
the  empty  chair  on  his  side  and  moved  nearer  to 
Harry.  But  when  she  appeared  the  next  moment, 
she  only  glanced  at  the  empty  chair  on  my  side, 
then  drew  back  the  chair  which  the  Ingenieur  had 
removed,  and  seated  herself  between  him  and 
Harry.  The  pretty  red  under  lip  was  pouting. 

All  laughed.  Lubitza  promptly  pulled  away  the 
empty  chair  between  us  and  moved  up  to  me. 

"Come  nearer,  Doctor.  I  am  more  fascinating 
than  father, — besides,  we  can  converse  more  con- 
fidentially." 

"Beware  of  her,  Herr  Doktor!"  warned  the  In- 
genieur with  a  grin. 

I  saw  that  Gisela  was  really  angry.  It  behooved 
me  to  be  careful.  It  was  too  soon,  and  my  situ- 
ation too  precarious  with  her  as  yet,  to  have  a 
lover's  quarrel.  It  would  not  do  to  go  too  far  with 
the  possessor  of  that  firm  little  mouth — at  least 
not  until  I  should  have  more  hold  upon  her.  I  took 
off  the  tiny  boutonniere  and  threw  it  at  her.  Lu- 
bitza promptly  rapped  my  knuckles  soundly  with  a 
fork  handle. 

"Daughter!"  exclaimed  the  mother. 

"I  warned  you !"  quoth  the  Ingenieur. 

"Bah !  The  Doctor  and  I  will  get  along  all  right. 
I'll  Wager  he'll  wear  my  flowers  in  Vienna  without 
throwing  them  away !  He'll  press  them  in  a  book." 

Harry  was  smiling  half  cynically.    I  wished  they 

97 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

would  turn  on  him  awhile.  But  the  first  part  of  a 
delicious  little  luncheon  had  been  deftly  served, 
and  we  all  found  ourselves  hungry. 

"This  wine  is  from  Lissa,  Herr  Doktor,  but  has 
been  many  years  in  the  cask,"  the  old  man  informed 
me. 

"It  tastes  like  a  fine  Beaujolais,"  I  remarked. 

"Yes.  The  Lissa  wines  season  well.  Here  in 
Dalmatia  we  hope,  some  day,  to  supplant  the 
French  wines  in  large  part.  Already  we  send 
thousands  of  barrels  to  Marseilles  and  much  of  the 
wine  within  a  French  label,  for  which  milord  pays 
twelve  or  fifteen  francs  the  bottle,  was  pressed  out 
right  here  in  Dalmatia.  We  have  no  vine  pests 
here  yet." 

"Yes,  all  seems  to  be  strong  and  well  in  Dalmatia. 
I  believe  you  could  stand  on  your  head  like  a  boy, 
Signer." 

"Oh,  I  can.    I'll  do  it  after  dinner  if  you  like." 

"He  is  worse  than  that,"  said  the  Ingenieur.  "I 
wouldn't  care  to  stand  up  against  him  with  bare 
steel." 

"Nor  I  with  bare  fists." 

"Now,  boys,  don't  waste  your  flattery.  Turn  it 
on  the  ladies  where  it  will  count  for  something." 

Gisela  was  very  quiet.  She  had  laughed  lightly 
when  I  had  thrown  the  bouquet  but  had  not  smiled 
afterward.  I  tried  to  catch  her  eye  but  she  was 
talking  to  Harry.  I  turned  to  Lubitza. 

"Herr  Ober-Leutnant  tells  me  that  you  really 
are  going, to  Vienna  to  study  opera." 

"Yes,  for  a  year,  to  see  what  I  can  do.  Shall  we 
see  one  another  there?" 

"Oh,  I  hope  so,  Signorina!  Otherwise,  I  shall 
be  disappointed  indeed.  With  whom  are  you  go- 
ing to  study?" 

98 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Thus  our  conversation  drifted  upon  a  safe  sub- 
ject for  she  was  an  enthusiast  in  music.  Harry 
was  soon  attracted  and  joined  in,  the  mother  being 
an  interested  listener.  I  saw  that  Gisela  spoke  but 
little  with  the  Ingenieur,  answering  him  shortly, 
when  he  addressed  her.  His  debonair  manner  was 
unaffected  by  that,  however.  After  a  little  he  be- 
gan a  discussion  with  the  father  about  some  Aus- 
trian political  situation.  Now  Gisela  must  talk 
to  me,  and  forgetful  of  dainty  chicken  sandwiches 
I  began. 

"Are  you  a  musician,  too,  Signorina?" 

"No,  although  I  love  music — especially  singing." 

"Why  do  you  not  go  up  to  Vienna,  too?  You 
could  go  with  your  cousin." 

"I  have  no  object  there,  Signor,"  she  replied, 
coldly. 

"There  is  much  in  Vienna  besides  music,  Signor- 
ina. It  is  a  gay  city." 

"I  know  little  of  balls  and  parties,  Herr  Doktor, 
and  do  not  believe  I  shall  ever  care  for  such 
things." 

"But  there  is  so  much  in  Vienna !  Do  you  not 
think  of  one — one  single  thing  you  might  care  for 
there?" 

She  gave  me  a  warning  glance.  Perhaps  fortu- 
nately for  us  both  there  was  a  diversion  at  this 
point.  A  visitor  was  announced.  He  proved  to  be 
a  priest  of  the  Servian-Orthodox  church — a  very 
large,  fine  looking  man  who  was  introduced  as 
"Padre  Petrus."  Signor  Tomanovich  brought  him 
to  the  table.  From  now  on  the  conversation  was  of 
little  interest  to  me,  and  I  was  glad  when  the 
meal  was  ended,  and  we  repaired  once  more  to  the 
drawing-room. 

I  did  not  know  if  Harry  did  it  purposely,  but  I 
99 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

was  grateful  to  him  for  taking  possession  of  Lu- 
bitza,  the  which  he  did  at  once.  The  mother  dis- 
appeared and  Signor  Tomanovich  and  the  priest 
retired  to  a  private  room.  After  some  moments  the 
Signor  appeared  and  beckoned  to  the  Ingenieur, 
who  excused  himself.  Lubitza  and  Harry  went  to 
the  piano  and  began  to  leaf  over  music.  Gisela  had 
seated  herself  in  an  overhanging  window  and  I 
joined  her. 

"Signorina,  are  you  angry  with  me?" 

"Almost.  You  just  saved  yourself  by  throwing 
away  those  weeds !" 

"If  I  could  believe  you  were  jealous  of  me,  I'd 
be  the  happiest  man  in  Austria,  now!" 

"Be  happy  then.  But  it  is  not  only  that,  there  is 
more  behind  the  matter." 

"Of  course  I  see  you  do  not  love  your  cousin, 
dear." 

"I  have  reason  not  to  love  her,  Signor.  There 
has  ever  been  strife  between  us.  If  I  am  ever  to 
love  you,  Signor,  I  warn  you  I  will  not  bear  with 
any  flirting  with  my  cousin!  You  will  have  to 
choose,  right  now,  between  us." 

"That  will  not  take  me  long.  But  is  not  Lubitza 
to  marry  Herr  Ober-Leutnant  Overmann?" 

"Oh,  that  is  nothing.  Lubitza  will  always  please 
herself,  and  above  all,  will  always  try  to  take  away 
from  me,  if  she  can,  no  matter  whether  she  really 
cares  for  the  thing  or  not." 

"She  cannot  do  that  with  me,  darling." 

"Be  careful,  Herr  Doktor — here.  In  this  house 
one  never  knows  who  may  be  listening.  You  were 
not  careful  at  table.  Don't  be  deceived  by  their 
cordiality." 

"It  seems  real  enough.  I  have  taken  a  real  liking 
to  your  uncle." 

100 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"My  uncle  is  not  a  bad  man  at  heart,  but  he  loves 
his  own  children  best;  and  my  cousin  has  him  un- 
der her  thumb." 

"Well,  I  love  them  all — for  having  left  us  alone 
together." 

"Nor  do  I  understand  that,  Herr  Doktor.  It  has, 
never  happened  before.  And  they  had  seated  me 
next  to  you!  If  you  knew  what  lies  bohind  the 
scenes  here,  you  would  wonder,  as  I  do !" 

Her  eyes  were  wide,  and  she  glanced  about,  half 
fearfully,  like  a  child  that  has  been  placed  in  joke 
upon  a  high  piece  of  furniture  and  left  there. 

I  determined  to  tell  her  I  did  know  of  her  situ- 
ation, suppressing  the  banker's  name,  of  course.  I 
saw  that  Lubitza  and  Harry  were  about  to  sing  and 
play  together,  as  Harry  had  seated  himself  at  the 
piano.  It  would  be  no  place  for  talking  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

"Let  us  prove  the  thing,  Signorina.  Let  us  go 
somewhere  alone,  and  see  if  they  interrupt  us." 

Her  little  mouth  became  firm  again.  She  rose, 
and  we  sauntered  out  onto  the  long  veranda.  We 
walked  slowly  to  the  other  end,  and  seated  ourselves 
in  wicker  chairs.  It  was  still  hot,  and  she  drew 
down  a  screen  with  which  the  veranda  was  fitted. 
Realizing  that  an  interruption  might  come  any  mo- 
ment, I  decided  to  waste  no  time. 

"Signorina,  I  love  you  and  want  you  to  be  my 
wife.  Therefore,  I  think  there  should  be  no  chance 
left  for  any  misunderstanding  between  us.  Also, 
perhaps  I  can  help  you.  I  loved  you  at  that  first 
sight  on  St.  John's  evening — my  friend  will  tell 
you  so,  for  we  have  been  good  friends  since  boy- 
hood and  I  keep  only  very  private  matters  from 
him.  At  that  time  I  did  not  know  what  or  who 
you  were,  and  yet  resolved  to  know  and  win  you. 
JQI 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

But,  Signorina,  in  trying  to  find  out  who  you 
were  and  a  way  to  your  acquaintance,  by  chance  I 
came  across  a  person  who  knew  all  about  you  and 
who  fully  explained  the  situation  between  you  and 
the  family  here.  I  know  about  your  great-grand- 
mother, Albina  Portulan,  and  about  the  curious  will 
she  left.  I  know  that  if  you  break  a  cardinal  rule 
of  the  Church  before  you  are  twenty-four  years 
old  you  will  lose  your  estates,  and  will  have  left 
only  that  curious  old  house  in  Perzagno.  In  such  a 
case  your  estates  are  to  go  to  your  cousin." 

She  was  prettier  than  ever  in  her  amazement. 

"Who  told  you  these  things,  Signor?" 

"I  am  pledged  not  to  repeat  the  name.  I'll  ask 
him  to  let  me  tell  you." 

"No  matter,  Signor.  What  further  did  he  tell 
you?" 

"Why — that  was  all.     Is  there  more?" 

"Did  he  tell  you  there  was  once  a  larger  estate  ?" 

"Oh,  yes.  He  mentioned  that,  but  said  it  was 
lost  with  Albina  Portulan's  death." 

"Yes.    You  have  been  well  informed!" 

"I  did  not  seek  this  information,  Signorina.  It 
only  came  by  chance  along  with  my  search  for  a 
way  to  come  to  you."  I  said  this  a  little  stiffly. 

She  glanced  about,  and  then  laid  her  hand  on 
mine  and  pressed  it.  Her  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"Don't  misunderstand  me,  Signor.  I  little  wish 
to  hurt  the  one  friend  I  have  in  the  world !" 

I  raised  the  hand  to  kiss  it.  She  fearfully  drew  it 
back. 

"Careful,  Signor!  God  knows  who  may  be 
watching  us!" 

There  was  a  closed  door  not  far  from  us.  She 
rose  and  opened  it,  looking  about  inside.  Then, 
leaving  the  door  wide  open,  she  resumed  her  seat. 

102 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"This  corner  is  my  bedroom,"  she  said. 

"Tell  me  about  Albina  Portulan.  I  have  part  of 
her  history,  but  not  all,"  and  I  repeated  what  the 
priest  at  Perasto  and  the  banker  had  told  me,  some- 
what softened,  of  course,  as  to  particulars.  She 
listened  smilingly. 

"You  have  heard,  almost  all  that  any  of  us 
know,"  she  said,  after  I  had  finished.  "You  see 
she  lived  much  over  a  century  ago,  and  most  of  her 
life  has  been  forgotten.  She  was  a  gay  woman 
when  young;  my  grandfather  was  ah — ah" 

"Illegitimate.  Yes,  I  was  told  that,  too.  Like 
wine,  that  only  needs  the  ageing  to  make  it  an 
asset.  Also  I  was  told  that  Albina  did  not  marry 
the  father  of  your  grandfather." 

"Yes,  it  was  so.  The  real  father  of  my  grand- 
father was  a  haiduch  and  a  violinist  whom  my 
great-grandmother  loved  while  still  a  girl.  He  lost 
his  life  and  left  her  his  violin.  Her  father  would 
not  allow  them  to  marry." 

Her  face  was  lit  by  the  glow  of  the  afternoon 
sun  shining  through  the  red  cloth  screen,  and  she 
looked  like  some  eastern  princess,  as  her  head  lay 
back  on  the  chair. 

"Is  it  known  what  became  of  this  violin  ?" 

"Oh,  yes.    We  have  it  now.    It  was  mentioned  in 
her  will  and  is  to  go  to  her  who  shall  inherit  Le 
Tre  Sorelle.    This  and  one  or  two  other  things  have 
been  handed  down  in  the  family." 
'"Is  it  a  fine  instrument?" 

"They  say  the  workmanship  is  very  fine  but  that 
it  has  a  broken  heart.  It  has  a  dreadful  tone  and 
is  utterly  worthless." 

"Has  no  repair  ever  been  attempted  ?" 

"They  say  it  is  not  worth  while.  The  tone  is 
too  bad." 

103 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Most  singular!  You  say  the  workmanship  is 
fine?" 

"Yes.  I'll  get  it  for  you.  It  is  here  in  my  room. 
You  can  see  for  yourself,  Signor." 

She  was  gone  a  moment  and  returned  with  it. 
The  case  seemed  heavy. 

The  case  was  within  a  thick  velvet-lined  canvas 
bag.  Removing  this,  revealed  a  rosewood  box  of 
the  usual  shape,  but  magnificently  carved.  The 
workman  who  had  done  that  carving  and  decorat- 
ing had  worked  for  love  of  his  art  and  not  for 
money.  The  case  alone  would  have  commanded 
practically  any  price  from  the  lover  of  an  an- 
tiquity. 

The  case  was  not  locked.  I  opened  it,  drew  out 
the  violin  and  examined  it  with  great  interest.  To 
even  the  most  inexperienced  eye  there  was  no  doubt 
of  the  workmanship.  Only  one  key  was  left  and 
the  tailpiece  and  bridge  were  missing — otherwise 
it  seemed  in  perfect  order.  I  looked  through  the 
/-hole  but  the  label  was  gone.  The  varnish  from 
scroll  to  end-pin  was  wholly  original  and  intact 
save  only  along  the  E  side  of  the  finger-board, 
where  a  little  had  been  scratched  away.  The  gen- 
eral proportions  were  of  enchanting  grace.  It  de- 
lighted my  eyes  more  and  more  every  instant  I 
looked  at  it,  not  only  by  reason  of  the  beauty  of 
its  lines,  but  as  well  on  account  of  the  lovely  old 
golden  brown  color  and  beautiful  figuring  in  the 
wood  of  the  back.  I  viewed  it  from  every  angle 
and  could  not  tire  of  the  sight.  For  the  moment  I 
forgot  everything  else  in  the  world. 

The  silver  laugh  recalled  me. 

"Now,  Doctor  Ransome,  I  have  discovered  your 
real  love  at  last !" 

"Signorina,  not  my  foremost  one,  but  I  admit 
104 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

you  will  have  to  let  me  bow  down  before  this 
beautiful  violin  a  little." 

"Do  you  know,  Signer,  that  just  now  your  face 
looked  like  that  of  some  devotee  in  rapt  prayer  be- 
fore a  favorite  chapel.  Is  it  so  very  fine  then?" 

"Signorina,  there  is  nothing  more  beautiful  in  the 
violin  world !  This  is  just  as  much  a  work  of  art 
as  a  Madonna  by  Raphael  or  the  finest  work  of  a 
Praxiteles.  It  is  something  to  worship!" 

She  laughed  joyously. 

"Signer,  it  is  yours !  It  would  be  unpardonable 
to  keep  such  a  lover  and  his  sweetheart  apart! 
Keep  it  always." 

I  stared  at  her,  only  half  comprehending. 

"It  is  yours,  Doctor,"  she  said  more  soberly. 

"What!  Do  you  really  give  it  to  me?" 

"Certainly,  Doctor  Ransome.  The  gift  is  of 
small  value,  I  assure  you.  It  has  no  tone." 

"But  will  your  uncle  not  object?" 

"Oh,  no !  Rest  assured  of  that.  True,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  part  of  the  estate,  but  I  have  always 
been  allowed  to  claim  it  as  my  very  own.  It  is 
worthless,  so  nobody  else  wanted  it,"  she  con- 
cluded bitterly. 

"But  aside  from  tone  it  is  an  heirloom  and  to- 
gether with  that  case  is  a  beautiful  antique.  Do 
you  not  care  for  it  at  all?" 

"Nothing  like  you  evidently  do.  Take  it  Edu — , 
Signor.  Give  me  the  pleasure  of  having  done 
something  to  please  you." 

I  had  caught  the  half  uttered  name  and  forgot 
the  violin  now. 

"You  not  only  please  but  delight  me  every  mo- 
ment I  am  with  you,  Gisela.  Thank  you,  dear  little 
girl.  I  shall  never,  as  long  as  I  live,  part  with  it  to 
any  other  hand  but  your  own.  I  wish  you  would 

105 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

give  me  yourself  along  with  the  violin.     Then  all 
three  could  be  together.    Can't  you  love  me,  dear?" 

"Don't,  Signor.  I  am  afraid.  Besides  we  have 
been  here  too  long  already.  Let  us  go.  We  have 
proved  that  no  one  will  interrupt  us,  have  we  not  ?" 
Again  she  smiled. 

"It  seems  so,  but  we  can't  know  that  it  will  oc- 
cur so  again.  Let  me  talk  to  you  one  moment  more. 
If  you  will  only  say  you  love  me,  I'll  go  to  your 
uncle  and  ask  for  you." 

Her  eyes  and  mouth  opened  in  genuine  fright 
and  she  held  out  her  arms  imploringly. 

"Oh,  Doctor!  Whatever  mad  thing  you  do  or 
think  of,  don't — do — that!" 

"Courage — courage — little  girl, — I'll  do  nothing 
of  the  sort  without  your  permission.  Calm  your- 
self. When  am  I  to  see  you  again  after  this  af- 
ternoon ?" 

She  was  still  trembling. 

"I — il — don't  think  it  can  be — sooner  than  Mon- 
day night.  There  is  to  be  a  military  ball  in  Cattaro 
that  evening.  I  do  not  know  yet  if  I  am  to  go,  but 
Lubitza  is  going  and  the  rest  will  go  with  her.  If 
I  go  you  will  see  me  there.  Perhaps  they  will  let 
us  alone  there,  also,  for  a  little  while.  If  I  be  not 
there,  come  over  here  about  ten  o'clock.  I  will  send 
Teresa  out  into  the  road  to  meet  you,  and  when  you 
arrive  she  will  come  and  bring  me." 

I  did  not  object  to  this  arrangement.  If  they 
could  find  it  in  their  hearts  not  to  allow  Gisela  to 
go  when  Lubitza  did,  I  would  feel  conscience-free 
in  coming  to  her  here. 

"Has  Lubitza  been  singing,  Signorina — I  have 
heard  nothing." 

"You  were  too  much  engaged  in  violin-worship. 
Yes,  she  only  stopped  a  few  moments  ago." 

106 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  had  not  heard  a  single  note !  I  was  spared  the 
need  of  a  social  lie,  however,  for  when  we  re- 
entered  the  drawing-room,  we  found  that  Paulo  as 
well  as  the  rest  were  there.  The  priest  had  depart- 
ed. We  entered  amidst  chatter  and  found  places. 
The  old  man  noticed  the  violin. 

"I  see,  Doctor,  that  Gisela  has  shown  you  the 
old  heirloom." 

Harry  looked  up. 

"Yes, — Doctor  Ransome  was  so  delighted  with  it 
that  I  have  given  it  to  him,  uncle." 

"Oh,  pshaw !  The  thing  is  worthless — only  a 
piece  of  old  lumber.  Give  him  the  little  jeweled 
stiletto  which  was  among  your  great-grandmother's 
things." 

"The  violin  is  beautiful  and  the  case  ought  to  be 
in  some  museum,"  I  said.  "It  is  too  much  of  a 
present  to  accept." 

"Bah !  If  you  really  like  it,  I  am  glad  my  niece 
gave  it  to  you.  Take  it  with  a  thousand  welcomes, 
Herr  Doktor.  But  you  will  be  disappointed.  It 
has  no  tone  and  is  only  a  curious  thing.  Did  you 
tell  the  Doctor  its  history,  Gisela  ?" 

"Oh,  yes." 

Harry,  all  eagerness,  had  the  violin  out.  When 
he  saw  it  his  jaw  fell,  and  he  stared  at  me,  green 
with  envy. 

"Why !  This  is  a  masterpiece !  No  tone,  did  you 
say?"  " 

"No,  Signer  Harry.  Several  fine  players  at  dif- 
ferent times  have  tried  it,  and  all  say  it  is  worth- 
less. Some  think  it  was  one  one  of  the  failures  or 
mistakes  of  a  great  maker.  Others  say  it  probably 
cnce  had  tone,  but  now  has  a  broken  heart." 

Harry  turned  the  violin  about  in  his  hands. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  sadly.  "I  know  of  another  such 
107 


The    A c c u r s e d    R  o c c o s 

a  one — a  Joannes  Baptiste  Guadagnini,  which  my 
former  master  in  Brussels  has.  It  has  been  put  in 
the  hands  of  the  best  makers  again  and  again.  They 
have  never  been  able  to  find  anything  wrong  with 
it,  and  the  workmanship  is  Guadagnini's  best.  But 
like  this  one,  it  has  no  tone.  I  suppose  some  min- 
ute crack  or  some  little  spot  or  streak  of  softening 
in  a  vital  spot,  or  some  strain  in  the  wood,  com- 
ing on  in  the  settling  of  the  parts  through  time,  ac- 
counts for  such  cases.  But  what  royal  workman- 
ship! What  a  magnificent  shaping!  Oh — it  is — 
too,  too— bad!" 

"I  believe  the  violin  never  had  tone,"  said  Paulo. 
"I  believe  the  old  masters  spoiled  a  good  many 
violins  in  the  making." 

"It  seems  strange  that  they  would  go  on  and 
finish  up  a  failure,"  I  remarked. 

"Oh,  no,  that  is  not  strange  at  all,"  said  Harry. 
"Much  of  the  great  worth  of  a  master-violin  de- 
pends upon  the  very  varnish  itself:  Therefore  the 
makers  probably  never  quite  knew  what  a  piece  of 
work  would  be  until  it  was  entirely  finished  up. 
The  secret  of  the  varnish  they  used  was  lost  with 
their  other  secrets.  Today,  if  one  of  these  old  mas- 
terpieces be  re-varnished,  it  is  ruined ;  so  re-varnish- 
ing is  never  attempted  on  a  fine  old  instrument,  no 
matter  how  it  looks." 

"Perhaps  that  is  what  is  the  matter  with  this 
one,"  suggested  the  old  man. 

"Oh,  no.  This  is  the  original  varnish,  through- 
out. Besides,  re-varnishing  does  not  destroy  the 
tone.  It  only  reduces  the  tone  quality  to  that  of  a 
common  but  first-class  modern  instrument." 

"Oh,  this  is  worse  than  that!"  said  Paulo,  "it 
makes  your  hair  stand  on  end  to  hear  it." 

108 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Harry  returned  the  violin  to  its  case. 

"Well,  Ed,  you  must  let  me  string  it  up  and  try 
it  to-morrow. 

It  did  not  much  matter  to  me  whether  it  had 
tone  or  not.  It  was  a  gift  from  Gisela  and  was  in- 
timately connected  with  her  history.  It  would  be 
my  companion  for  the  rest  of  my  life  unless  she 
should  want  it  again.  Besides,  in  its  way,  it  was 
her  match  in  beauty. 

The  afternoon  was  waning  and  Harry  and  I 
took  our  leave  amid  many  repeated  invitations  to 
visit  them  soon  again.  As  we  started  down  the 
walk,  Lubitza  called  out: 

"Are  you  going  to  the  ball  Monday  night  ?" 

"Have  not  heard  of  it,"  called  back  Harry. 

"Oh,  you  must  both  go.  I'll  see  that  you  get 
cards.  We'll  all  be  there,"  called  out  the  Inge- 
nieur. 

Paulo  accompanied  us  to  our  barque.  After  we 
were  seated  I  turned  and  looked  him  up  and  down. 
He  was  certainly  good  to  look  at  with  his  trim 
athletic  figure  and  large  gray  eyes.  The  latter  he 
took  from  his  mother  and  his  face,  like  hers,  was 
expressionless  as  he  talked. 

After  we  were  off  shore  a  way,  Harry  said: 

"That  fellow  would  make  an  Ai  poker  player. 
He  could  hold  four  aces  or  a  four  flush  with  one 
and  the  same  expression  on  his  face.  By  the  way, 
Ed,  before  I  forget  it,  I  want  to  mention  a  little 
occurrence  you  did  not  see.  I  would  have  been 
completely  deceived  today  if  it  had  not  been  for 
this  thing.  As  it  is,  it  may  not  mean  anything,  but 
I  don't  like  it.  After  you  and  Signorina  Portulan 
left  the  room  after  luncheon,  Signorina  Lubitza  and 
I  were  trying  over  some  songs — by  the  way,  Ed, 
she  has  a  voice!  Did  you  hear  her  out  there?  Well, 
109 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

you  missed  something  worth  while!  Well,  I  was 
playing  her  accompaniments.  It  so  happened  that 
that  cheval  mirror  in  the  drawing  room  was  so 
placed  that  I  could  look  into  it  and  see  the  outside 
door  behind  me.  While  I  was  playing,  I  saw  that 
old  priest  come  out  on  tip-toe,  go  to  the  door  and 
take  a  long  look  down  the  veranda  in  your  direc- 
tion. I  think  he  must  have  been  looking  at  you. 
Then  he  tip-toed  back  into  the  room  he  had  come 
from." 

"Did  Lubitza  see  it?" 

"I  don't  know.  She  was  singing  but  did  not  break 
off." 

"Wants  to  know  me  when  he  sees  me  again  per- 
haps." 

"I  have  that  impression.  He  was  looking  at  you 
all  right!  And  careful  that  I  should  not  see  him 
do  it.  It  shows,  too,  that  you,  or  we,  were  being 
discussed  in  that  room.  I  wonder  if  Tomanovich 
means  to  let  you  have  her  ?" 

"Have  who?  Oh,  Signorina  Gisela.  Well,  it 
looks  favorable  for  me  today." 

"You  were  given  a  clear  field,  certainly — and 
very  cordially  invited  to  come  again.  If  you  find 
the  Signorina  at  the  ball,  and  you  are  again  given 
a  clear  field,  I  think  you  can  conclude  that  he  ex- 
pects you  to  ask  for  her,  at  least.  .That  is  the  Ital- 
ian custom,  Ed, — exactly." 

"That  would  mean  that  he  has  concluded  to  give 
up  the  estate.  I  have  my  doubts!" 

"Oh,  I  have  not  suggested  so  much.  I  only  say 
that  he  will  expect  you  to  ask.  His  answer  is  an- 
other matter.  We  cannot  possibly  forecast  that. 
But  keep  your  eyes  peeled  for  that  old  priest.  If  I 
have  any  sense,  there  was  no  good  in  that  tip-toe- 
ing!" 

no 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I'll  watch  for  him.     What  do  you  think  of  Lu- 
bitza?" 

"A  talented  little  devil!"  he  answered. 


ill 


CHAPTER  IX 

HARRY  rose  betimes  the  next  morning,  purchased 
missing  strings,  fittings,  a  sound-post  lever,  and 
tried  out  the  violin.  I  have  never  seen  a  human 
being  so  torn  between  admiration  and  regret  as 
Harry  was  after,  having  polished  and  otherwise 
freshened  up  the  old  instrument,  he  at  last  drew 
bow  across  it.  Of  all  the  melancholy  wails  I  had 
ever  heard,  this  was  the  weirdest  and  most  nerve 
racking.  It  did  not  sound  like  a  cheap  violin — 
there  was  an  indefinable  something  in  the  tone 
that  proclaimed  the  aristocrat.  It  made  me  think 
of  the  thin,  tired,  hollow,  forced  and  interrupted 
accents  of  some  old  noble  lying  upon  his  death- 
bed. 

Harry  sat  down,  hunched  up  on  a  chair  with  his 
elbows  on  his  knees,  and  contemplated  the  instru- 
ment long  and  sadly.  Finally  he  drew  a  long 
breath  and  placed  the  violin  and  bow  in  the  case. 
Then  he  mused  over  it  again,  fingering  the  violin 
absently.  At  last  he  sighed  once  more  and  stood 
up. 

"It's  no  good  for  playing  and  never  will  be.  Don't 
waste  money  trying  to  have  it  fixed  up.  But  no 
piece  of  sculpture  nor  no  great  painting  came  to 
us  from  a  greater  artist  than  did  this  violin.  Al- 
ways keep  it,  Ed.  If  you  get  tired  of  having  it 
kicking  about,  sell  it  to  me.  It  ought  to  be  in 
friendly  hands  for  the  sake  of  what  it  once  was." 

"Oh,  I'll  keep  it — never  fear!  It  was  given  to 
me  by  the  Signorina." 

"Keep  it  strung  up  and  looking  decent,  too.  The 
112 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Venus  de  Milo  is  broken,  but  she  is  given  a  pedestal 
and  a  place  of  honor!" 

"Do  you  think  it  once  had  tone?  Is  it  a  Strad?" 
"Yes,  it  once  had  tone — there  is  one  place,  high 
up  on  the  A  and  E  strings  where  it  is  still  good, 
though  weak.  That  case  alone  was  never  made  for 
a  toneless  violin.  I  think  it  is  not  a  Stradivarius, 
at  least  not  Antonius.  It  is  no  Amati.  I  think  it 
came  from  the  hand  of  one  of  the  other  great 
makers.  Hum !  See !  The  sharp  edges  formed 
by  the  coming  together  of  the  flare  of  the  sides,  are 
blackened.  That  recalls  something — Hum !  I 
ca-a-n't  remember — well,  Ed,  put  it  away!  I  can't 
look  at  it  any  longer !" 

That  morning  I  packed  the  instrument  and  case 
in  voluminous  wrappings  and  shipped  it  to  Vienna, 
to  my  rooms. 

In  settling  with  the  spediteur  I  noticed  that  my 
funds  were  running  low  and  immediately  repaired 
to  the  bank  to  make  a  draft.  After  the  usual  trans- 
action was  completed  the  cashier  informed  me 
that  Signer  Sbutega  had  asked  to  see  me  when  I 
should  come  in.  I  was  again  ushered  into  his 
office.  He  cordially  gave  me  his  hand. 

"Well,  Doctor  Ransome,  how  does  the  affair 
progress  ?" 

"Unexpectedly  well,  so  far,  Signer.  Am  I  in- 
debted to  you  for  some  smooth  sailing?" 

"I  mentioned  you  to  the  Herr  Ingenieur  and 
Signer  Tomanovich.  Perhaps  that  has  helped 
somewhat." 

"My  best  thanks,  Signor.  I  did  not  know  of  this 
before,  as  not  having  received  my  letters  yet,  I 
was  not  expecting  your  kindness." 

"Oh,  we  have  the  telegraph,  Signor,  and  I  have 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

a  special  agent  in  my  correspondent's  bank  in 
Vienna.  I  had  him  report  on  you,  and  after  that 
report  nothing  further  was  necessary.  I  have  quite 
done  my  duty  by  my  friend,  Signer  Tomanovich." 

"Ah,  Signer.    I  see  that  a  banker's  arm  is  long !" 

"Or  rather,  his  web  has  many  long  threads.  It 
must  be  so,  Doctor,  or  he  wouldn't  be  long  in  busi- 
ness. Well,  I  congratulate  you,  Doctor.  Signorina 
Portulan  is  a  beautiful  woman,  and  as  fine  as  she 
is  beautiful.  I  shall  hope,  some  day  not  far  off,  to 
be  invited  to  your  wedding." 

"Oh,  that  is  still  far  enough  away.  My  suc- 
cess consists  only  in  having  been  permitted  to  make 
her  acquaintance." 

"Courage.  Things  that  are  worth  while  usually 
take  more  or  less  time.  Signer,  I  wonder  if  I  may 
entreat  a  very  great  favor  of  you?  One  that  will 
lay  certain  persons  under  great  obligations?  Obli- 
gations which  they  will  cheerfully  repay  should 
the  opportunity  offer?" 

"Certainly,  Signor." 

"First  hear  what  it  is.  Are  you  intending  to  go 
into  Montenegro  again?" 

"Ah!  Is  there  a  return  message?" 

"You  have  guessed  it.  It  would  be  very  easy. 
You  have  only  to  go  to  Cettinje,  and  after  night- 
fall, put  the  return  packet  where  you  found  the  first 
one.  It  is  not  necessary  to  exchange  words  with 
any  person  whatever,  but  merely  to  walk  past  the 
Prince's  palace  once  during  the  hour  between  four 
and  five  in  the  afternoon  before  the  evening  on 
which  you  deliver  the  packet  to  its  place." 

"Shall  I  go  tomorrow?" 

"Oh,  no.  You  can  do  it  at  your  own  convenience 
— next  week — the  week  after, — as  you  please.  I 

114 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

only  ask  to  know  the  morning  of  the  day  before 
you  start." 

"May  I  tell  my  friend?" 

"Oh,  yes, — with  due  cautions  as  to  his  discre- 
tion." 

"Very  well,  Signor." 

"Of  course  if  you  were  not  intending  to  go 
again" 

"I  did  not  mean  to,  but  it  is  a  very  little  thing.  I 
will  do  it  cheerfully." 

"A  thousand  thanks,  Doctor !  It  is  not  a  money- 
making  affair  or  believe  me,  I  would  never  ask 
it  of  you.  And  for  the  rest,  if  at  any  time  in  the 
future  you  ever  need  help  in  Austria  send  me  the 
code  message  I  shall  give  you  when  I  give  you  the 
packet." 

He  opened  a  private  strong  room  and  disappeared 
within  it,  presently  returning  with  a  long  sealed 
envelope. 

"Be  careful  to  allow  no  one  to  see  this,  Doctor. 
You  may  tell  your  friend  of  your  errand,  but  keep 
this  envelope  in  your  own.  hands  until  you  deliver 
it  in  the  place  you  know  of." 

He  wrote  a  line  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  placed  the 
last  in  an  envelope  and  sealed  it.  On  the  outside 
of  the  envelope  he  wrote  "Codex — Cattaro." 

"Here  is  the  code  message,  Signor.  Please  never 
open  the  envelope  unless  you  need  me.  If  you 
ever  do,  use  just  the  code  message  and  add  your 
then  address  only.  You  need  not  sign  the  message. 
Don't  get  the  envelopes  mixed,  and  deliver  the 
wrong  one  in  Cettinje.  Lock  the  packet  in  a  safe 
place  until  you  are  ready  to  start.  The  morning  be- 
fore you  start  send  me  an  ordinary  note  asking  me 
to  remit  to  you  at  Ragusa.  I  shall  understand." 

He  thanked  me  warmly  and  bowed  me  out.     I 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

could  go  to  Cettinje  one  morning  and  come  back 
the  next,  and  it  was  not  much  of  a  sacrifice  for 
Signor  Sbutega,  who  had  served  me  so  well. 

That  afternoon  I  received  a  message  from  Gisela. 
As  I  left  the  hotel  after  luncheon  I  saw  Teresa 
walking  past.  She  gave  me  one  quick  look  and 
passed  on.  She  led  me  into  an  unfrequented  street 
and  turned.  As  I  came  up,  she  said : 

"The  Signorina  will  be  at  the  ball."  Then  she 
fled  away. 

I  was  sincerely  glad,  and  prepared  to  enjoy  the 
following  two  days  in  good  spirits. 

The  morning  following  I  received  a  note  from 
the  Ingenieur  arranging  to  meet  us  at  the  Dojmi 
that  evening.  Harry  had  gone  to  Budua,  but  was 
back  in  good  time,  and  the  hour  mentioned  found 
us  under  Enrico's  ministrations  in  our  accustomed 
place.  The  Ingenieur  was  late,  but  came  at  last. 

"Well,  how  did  the  fiddle  turn  out?" 

"Oh,  just  as  you  said.  But  I  am  delighted  to 
have  it,  nevertheless.  Are  all  of  you  coming  to  the 
ball?" 

"Yes,  every  one.  I  have  your  cards  here.  They 
have  got  your  name  wrong,  Signor  McClellan,  but 
that  is  your  father's  fault.  You  must  have  it 
changed  before  you  have  your  debut.  You  can  go 
and  live  in  Hungary  for  a  few  weeks,  declare  your- 
self a  resident,  and  take  any  fine  new  name  you 
please.  It  is  a  trick  employed  by  our  Hebrew 
friends  when  their  names  are  too  bad.  An  artist 
must  have  an  artistic  name." 

"Time  enough  to  name  the  dish  when  it  is  set 
before  me." 

"No — no!  In  this  instance  name  it  first.  There 
is  success  and  failure  in  a  name — in  art,  at  least. 
By  the  way,  Doctor,  my  fiancee  has  taken  a  great 
116 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

fancy  to  you.    She  won't  talk  of  any  other  subject." 

"We  must  stop  that!  I  have  no  liking  for  the 
field  of  honor." 

"No  fear!  On  the  contrary,  when  wedded  bliss 
begins  to  pall,  I  may  find  you  a  great  convenience. 
Besides,  she  is  going  to  Vienna,  and  I  shall  be  in 
Trebinje  and  I  shall  not  know  what  happens." 

"It  is  easy  to  see  that  you  are  sure  of  your 
fiancee,  Herr  Ober-Leutnant !" 

"Not  a  bit  of  it !  To  tell  the  truth,  I  don't  more 
than  half  expect  she  will  marry  me.  I  think  she 
will  go  on  the  stage." 

"Are  you  not  in  love  with  her?" 

"Ah — love !  And  what  is  that  ?  A  little  rift  of 
sunshine  peeping  through  the  shadows.  A  seem- 
ing reality  today,  an  amusing  memory  tomorrow. 
With  some  a  sentiment,  with  others  a  pastime,  and 
with  still  others  a  passion,  but  of  various  sorts.  A 
business  for  boys  and  women,  but  for  men  a  mere 
amusement,  which  no  more  than  any  other  amuse- 
ment must  be  allowed  to  hinder  their  work,  or 
cause  them  to  take  one  step  aside  from  the  pursuit 
of  their  object  in  life.  What?  Is  my  whole  hap- 
piness in  life  to  drag  behind  the  whimsical  and 
uncertain  skirts  of  a  woman?  Only  a  fool  allows 
that — the  sort  of  fool  who  for  years  rides  one  old 
hack  when  he  can  buy  a  fresh  young  horse  every 
season?  Nay — nay!  We  do  not  pluck  a  rose  and 
keep  it  and  try  to  find  perfume  in  it  after  it  is 
withered  and  dry.  Gentlemen,  the  fool  of  fools, 
the  double-dyed  in  the  wool  and  triple  extract 
fool  of  the  world,  is  the  man  who  lets  a  woman 
spoil  his  life !" 

In  the  mouths  of  some  men  such  a  speech  would 
have  meant  past  or  present  bitterness ;  but  in  his 
case  I  was  sure  it  was  simply  his  creed. 
117 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"What  do  you  think  of  that,  Harry?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  much  about  women.  For 
me  they  are  only,  sometimes,  companions  in  art. 
But  I  agree  with  the  Ingenieur,  so  far,  that  there 
is  no  use  letting  a  woman  spoil  one's  life." 

"As  a  physician,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  we 
spoil  their  lives  more  often  than  they  do  ours." 

"Oh,  you  have  shot  wide  of  the  mark,  Doctor," 
said  the  Ingenieur.  "I  was  thinking  only  of  the 
psychological  side." 

"The  one  leads  into  the  other, — the  psychological 
into  the  physical,  and  vice  versa, — even  as  cause 
and  effect." 

"Argue  as  you  please  and  hold  what  beliefs  you 
like,  but  at  least  recognize  one  cardinal  fact,  for 
which  any  man  who  really  knows  women  can  vouch, 
and  that  is,  that  every  woman  wants  to  be  spoiled, 
as  you  term  it.  The  man  who  is  regarded  by  them 
as  a  namby-pamby  (have  I  got  that  word  right, 
Doctor?)  and  who  goes  through  life  more  their 
victim  and  dupe  than  any  other,  is  the  idiot  who  sets 
women  up  as  angels  and  worships  them  as  some- 
thing purer  and  better  than  himself.  If  he  does 
this,  she  will  act  the  part — for  him ;  but  not  among 
his  friends  and  acquaintances  when  he  is  not  by ! 
And  among  them,  she  will  laugh  at  and  deride  him 
for  doing  it,  too.  As  to  the  fact  that  she  wants  to 
be  spoiled,  only  watch  her  with  a  little  intelligence 
and  you  are  enlightened,  at  once.  How  often  do 
you  notice  that  as  soon  as  a  woman  learns  that  a 
certain  man  is  a  rake,  she  is  crazy  to  meet  him 
forthwith !  How  often  do  you  see  a  girl  desert  a 
clean  man  for  a  roue!  How  often  do  you  see  a 
woman,  married  to  a  so-called  good  man,  opening 
the  side  door  for  the  butterflies  to  come  in !  Watch 
any  gathering  of  men  and  women,  and  you  will 
118 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

notice  that  the  men  who  are  holding  the  attention 
of  the  women  are  not  the  pillars  of  the  church,  or 
if  they  are,  haven't  been  found  out  yet.  Plenty 
of  the  more  honest  women,  and  good  women,  too, 
will  tell  you  they  do  not  want  to  marry  a  priest. 
Women  are  not  better  than  we  are;  they  are  only 
finer  rigged  and  finished.  The  vein  of  adventurous 
love,  for  example,  runs  in  every  one  of  them,  and 
the  man  who  wishes  to  please  them  must  not  play 
the  role  of  respectful  unworthy  worshipper.  You 
must  give  her  adventure,  variety,  something  forbid- 
den ;  or  at  least  the  semblance  of  it,  and  above  all, 
be  the  master.  In  one  respect,  women  are  like  men. 
What  comes  sure  and  easy  they  do  not  prize  and 
they  would,  in  love  matters,  rather  walk  about  in 
the  shady  mysterious  wood,  than  follow  a  straight 
and  monotonous  road  in  the  hot  sun.  How  often 
do  you  hear  a  woman  regret  that  she  is  not  a  man? 
Why?  The  answer  is  easy !" 

I  felt  Harry  pressing  my  foot  with  his.    He  said : 

"We  are  having  an  unusual  opportunity  just  now, 
Ed.  Listen  to  what  the  Ober-Leutnant  says  and 
profit  thereby." 

"None  of  your  sarcasm,  Sir  Violinist !  You  have 
not  been  waked  up  yet,  but  we  will  hear  the  same 
opinions  from  you  one  of  these  days!"  , 

"I  am  not  in  a  sarcastic  mood.  On  the  contrary 
I  am  quite  interested  in  your  views.  My  time  has 
been  spent  in  practising  scales,  so,  as  you  say,  I 
have  not  been  waked  up  yet.  Now  let  me  under- 
stand you.  Suppose  you  were  to  meet  a  woman, 
a  good  woman,  whom  you  would  decide  to  marry. 
How  would  you  set  about  to  win  her?  If  I  have 
understood  you  rightly,  you  would  prefer  and  she 
would  prefer,  not  straightforward  honorable  court- 
ship in  which  a  vital  question  would  be  asked  and 
119 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

answered,  and  then  the  parents  consulted;  but  ra- 
ther some  oblique  proceeding, — say  an  elopement; 
or  a  love  adventure  with  complications?" 

Harry  put  this  question  in  the  crisp  and  hard 
voice  which  one  might  have  expected  from  a  public 
prosecutor.  I  looked  at  him  in  astonishment. 

"Well,  royalty  has  even  lately  set  us  the  exam- 
ple," declared  the  Ingenieur,  laughing.  "Well, — 
just  so.  Oh,  of  course,  if  she  happened  to  be  an  ex- 
ceptional creature  and  preferred  the  direct  way, 
why,  then,  well  and  good.  But  ten  to  one,  she 
wouldn't  prefer  it.  And  if  I  were  after  a  woman 
who  did  not  yet  care  for  me  I  shouldn't  proceed 
along  the  worshipping  lines.  I'd  give  her  an  adven- 
ture— and  a  walk  in  the  woods!" 

Harry  looked  down  at  his  glass  and  nodded  a 
time  or  two. 

"I'll  remember,"  he  said. 

"Well,  gentlemen,  this  is  enough  for  one  lesson. 
Digest  it  well.  I  think  we  shall  have  a  pleasant 
time  Monday  evening.  Some  pretty  maids  I  know 
are  coming  down  from  Ragusa.  Up  there  they 
have  many  luxuries  we  do  not  and  they  think  they 
can  show  us  things,  but  maybe  we  can  open  those 
girls'  eyes  a  little.  I  for  one  am  going  to  try.  Be 
sure  and  stroll  up  when  you  see  me  talking  to  more 
than  one  of  them  in  the  ball-room,  but  keep  your 
distance  when  I  am  with  only  one  pretty  floweret 
in  the  garden.  I'll  bear  myself  likewise.  I  must 
go.  I  came  over  horseback — don't  bother  to  come 
with  me.  Don't  get  a  headache  or  something  Mon- 
day and  fail  to  come,  Doctor.  Otherwise  I  won't 
have  a  hair  left  in  my  head  that  evening  and  that 
will  hurt  my  chances.  I  have  sworn  to  confess  no 
longer  after  I  am  bald." 

1 20 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Oh — yes!  I  see  you  going  to  confessional!  The 
priest  would  have  a  stroke!" 

"No  he  wouldn't !  He'd  make  me  swear  to  come 
only  to  his  box,  and  no  other — Auf  Wiedersehen !" 

His  swaggering  figure  disapeared  into  the 
Marina.  I  half  started  to  call  the  cash  waiter  and 
settle,  but  Harry  tapped  my  arm. 

"Wait  a  bit,  Ed.  Sit  down  again.  I  have  an 
idea." 

"Be  careful  with  it — tell  it  slow." 

"It  will  produce  some  fever,  I  think.  Did  noth- 
ing occur  to  you  as  he  was  discoursing  about  wom- 
en?" 

"Only  that  his  screed  was  a  most  clever  mixture 
of  truth  and  lies.  What  occurred  to  you?" 

"Nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  perfectly  transpa- 
rent explanation  of  your  situation  here." 

"My  situation  seems  good  enough,  Harry.  They 
are  all  friendly  and  the  Signorina  is  coming  Mon- 
day night." 

"I  have  been  able  to  see  better  at  last.  I  think 
you  are  living  in  a  fool's  paradise.  I'll  grant  that 
it  seemed  all  right  to  me,  too,  until  the  last  half 
hour.  I  may  be  wrong,  but — my  idea  clings  with  all 
the  circumstances." 

He  mused  a  little. 

"Well,  devil  take  you,  Harry — out  with  it !  'Par- 
turient montes'  " 

"Well,  it  is  an  ugly  and  poisonous  mouse  at 
least.  Anyway,  I  wouldn't  be  a  friend  of  yours  if 
I  didn't  mention  this  thing — you  can  do  as  you 
please  with  it.  We  were  both  asses  to  imagine  for 
a  moment  that  old  Tomanovich  and  his  family 
mean  to  tamely  let  the  Signorina  marry  and  lose 
hold  of  her  estate!  I  think  I  see  the  glimmerings 

of  another  plan.     If  they  were  not  Italian" 

121 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Oh,  curse  your  prejudices,  Harry!  I  am  in  no 
mood  to  hear  more  of  that  nonsense !" 

"All  right,  Ed,"  he  said  coolly.  "Hoe  your  own 
row ! — Pagare !" 

The  waiter  came  and  we  settled  our  accounts. 
Harry  donned  his  hat.  My  temper  had  evaporated. 

"Come,  old  man,  sit  down  a  moment.  Put  your- 
self in  my  place.  Remember  that  the  Signorina  is 
pure  Italian,  or  at  any  rate,  very  nearly  so,  and  you 
will  realize  why  it  grinds  me  to  hear  about  Italian 
falseness.  The  people  you  mean  are  more  Servian 
than  Italian.  I  don't  know  Servians — perhaps  they 
are  false.  Call  them  so,  if  you  like,  but  let  Ital- 
ians alone." 

"I  beg  pardon,  Ed!  Of  course  I  had  no  thought 
of  the  Signorina  when  I  spoke.  I  honestly  believe 
her  to  be  a  fine  woman  in  every  sense  of  the  word — 
have  never  yet  thought  more  highly  of  a  stranger 
than  I  do  of  her.  She  is  always  excepted,  remem- 
ber, if  I  happen  to  forget  your  prohibition  again. 
But  I  must  tell  you  this  thing  in  my  own  way,  Ed." 

We  grasped  hands  and  he  re-seated  himself. 

"Ed,  I  admit  I  may  be  wrong,  but  I  at  least  see 
another  plan  than  their  giving  up  the  Signorina's 
estate." 

"Harry,  if  anything,  they  are  throwing  me  in 
the  way  of  the  Signorina.  And  they  are  not  blind !" 

"  'Deed  they  are  not  blind !  None  see  better !  And 
you  are  right — they  are  throwing  you  in  her  way !" 

"Well?" 

"Well !  And  meanwhile  his  nibs  the  Ingenieur 
comes  here  and  covertly  preaches  dishonorable 
methods  with  women!  Do  you  begin  to  see?  Or 
are  your  eyes  like  an  alligator's,  with  a  succession 
of  lids  to  be  opened?" 

"No,  I  don't  see." 

122 


The    Ace u r s e d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Your  brain  is  not  cerebrating  then,  for  it  is  clear 
enough.  Now — see!  They  do  not  know  that  you 
know  anything  about  the  estate  or  the  will,  nor  the 
conditions  under  which  the  Signorina  will  inherit. 
They  see,  in  you,  just  an  inexperienced  young 
man  gone  mad  over  a  pretty  girl.  Now  if  she 
marry,  they  lose  the  estate — ergo,  they  do  not 
want  her  to  marry.  If  she  safely  become  of  age, 
they  lose — ergo,  they  want  something  to  happen  be- 
fore that  day.  What  can  happen?  The  will  states 
it:  If  the  Signorina  break  a  rule  of  the  church, 
they  win ;  ergo — they  want  her  to  break  a  rule.  Now 
the  most  natural  rule  to  break  is  the  rule  against 
unchastity.  Conclusion :  they  see  you  are  mad 
about  her,  and  that  she,  at  last,  is  interested  in  a 
man — you.  They  throw  you  judiciously  together, 
and  the  Ingenieur  is  delegated  to  put  the  meanness 
into  your  head.  Their  next  step  will  be  to  keep 
you  apart  again,  under  the  pretence  of  having  dis- 
covered your  attempt  to  win  her,  thus  giving  the 
next  roll  to  the  ball." 

It  certainly  was  an  ugly  and  poisonous  mouse  of 
which  Harry  had  delivered  himself.  It  worked  into 
my  very  vitals  and  gnawed  there.  But  after  a  min- 
ute or  two  I  felt  relieved. 

"Ah,  Harry,  it  is  ingenious  as  far  as  it  goes,  but 
you  forget  that  the  will  also  says  if  she  marry  be- 
fore her  majority  she  is  to  inherit.  What,  then,  can 
they  gain  if  I  should  ruin  her?" 

"The  moment  she  is  compromised,  refuse  con- 
sent to  a  marriage  and  clap  her  into  a  convent ! 
How  would  you  marry,  then?  You  are  still  dull, 
my  son.  They'll  never  let  you  marry.  Besides,  Ed, 
it  is  probably  not  necessary  to  their  plans  that  the 
overt  act  be  actually  committed.  If  they  can  sur- 
prise you  and  her  under  any  compromising  circum- 

123 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

stances  or  obtain  the  seeming  of  it,  as  for  instance 
an  interrupted  elopement,  it  will  probably  be  enough 
for  their  plans.  So  far  as  shutting  her  up  is  con- 
cerned it  will  be  enough  if  they  can  show  that  there 
was  seeming  danger  of  her  being  led  off.  The 
Signer  can  urge  his  duties  as  a  guardian  in  defence. 
But  it  is  their  plan  to  have  her  ruined  or  the  seem- 
ing of  it  and  then  shut  her  up,  and  supposing  the 
ruining  to  occur,  the  rest  is  perfectly  feasible — 
even  easy.  Once  their  object  is  gained  they  will 
throw  you  away  like  a  worn  out  glove." 

The  argument  was  clinched.  Harry  had  dis- 
coursed better  than  he  knew,  especially  when  he 
spoke  of  the  convent,  for  I  had  not  repeated  to  him 
any  of  the  conversation  which  had  taken  place  be- 
tween Gisela  and  myself. 

"How  do  you  explain  Lubitza's  seeming  wish 
to  flirt  with  me  and  the  Ingenieur's  acquiescence?" 
I  asked  in  a  low  tone. 

"No  doubt  that  is  all  done  to  egg  the  Signorina 
on.  You  saw  that  the  girls  are  jealous  of  and 
hate  one  another." 

"Can  they  shut  a  girl  in  a  convent  without  a  legal 
proceeding?' 

"It  takes  a  very  small  excuse  anywhere  where 
any  Church  has  a  large  influence.  A  girl  under 
age  can  be  placed  in  a  convent  by  her  parents  or 
guardians,  be  quietly  kept  there  until  her  major- 
ity, and  by  proper  management  longer,  especially 
if  it  be  to  the  interest  of  the  Church  to  do  so.  It 
is  only  necessary  to  have  ready  an  excuse  which 
can  be  quoted  in  case  of  inquiry." 

I  remembered  one  instance  of  which  I  had  had 
personal  knowledge  in  which  a  young  woman  under 
age,  heiress  to  an  estate,  had  been  so  immured  be- 
cause of  a  more  than  usual  love  for  canine  pets. 

124 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

There  had  been  no  legal  proceeding.  It  had  been 
very  quietly  and  expeditiously  accomplished  and 
few  knew  what  had  become  of  her.  She  would  be 
inquired  for  and  produced  again  at  her  majority; 
but  in  such  a  case  as  Harry  made,  the  release  at 
her  coming  age  would  not  help  Gisela,  as  far  as 
her  estate  was  concerned. 

Harry's  words  had  reached  their  mark.  Every 
word  and  every  circumstance  of  the  whole  affair 
supported  his  idea.  That  I  was  buried  in  the  very 
depths  of  uncertainty  and  misery  goes  without  say- 
ing. I  could  see  no  way  out. 

"What  shall  I  do,  Harry?" 

"Ah!  Now  we  come  to  a  very  crucial  point  and 
I  wonder  if  you  will  make  good.  Your  first  duty 
is  to  think  of  her  welfare,  isn't  it?" 

"Certainly,  Harry — at  any  rational  sacrifice  at 
all!— Well?— And?" 

"It  is  simple  enough.  With  or  without  the  Signor- 
ina's  permisson,  go  to  the  Signer  at  your  very 
earliest  opportunity,  and  ask  for  her.  It  is  the 
custom,  and  he  can  think  nothing  strange  of  it. 
His  answer  will  be  affirmative  if  he  has  meant  well 
by  allowing  you  to  be  twice  together  alone,  as  it 
will  be,  the  night  of  the  ball.  If  he  refuse  or  hesi- 
tate then  our  suspicions  are  justified.  In  the  last 
case,  tell  him  openly  and  flatly  that  he  need  never 
expect  you  to  do  anything  wrong  or  dishonorable, 
but  that  you  expect  to  have  the  privilege  of  seeing 
her  at  his  house,  and  that  you  will  exercise  your 
right  to  win  her  in  an  honorable  manner  if  you 
can.  And  say  it  so  he  will  be  convinced  that  you 
mean  every  word  you  say." 

"Good,  Harry.    I'll  do  it  just  so !" 

"Then,"  and  he  held  up  a  warning  finger,  "carry 
out  your  words.  Of  course  you  are  not  going  to 

125 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ruin  her,  nor  try  to,  under  any  circumstances — 
that  isn't  the  point  at  all.  The  danger  is  that  if  your 
seeing  her  be  interfered  with,  you  will  see  her  at 
times  and  places  which,  however  innocent,  will  fur- 
nish them  a  handle  to  use.  Remember  that  is  what 
they  will  be  looking  and  planning  for.  As  long 
as  you  see  her  at  her  own  house, — or  any  other 
place  with  his  or  his  wife's  knowledge  and  permis- 
sion, he  cannot  use  it.  But  beware  of  seeing  her 
outside  of  her  house  against  his  will.  Remember! 
I  know  the  Italian  customs !" 

"But  in  asking  the  Signer  for  her,  may  I  not 
precipitate  matters?  I  have  gone  far  enough  with 
her  to  broach  that  idea,  and  she  was  frightened  out 
of  her  wits  at  the  bare  mention  of  it." 

"Oh,  I  can't  see  that.  Not  even  among  Italians 
is  a  girl  shut  up  because  a  proper  man  proposes 
honorable  marriage  for  her." 

"Well— thanks,  old  man !  I'll  talk  with  the  Sig- 
norina  about  it  as  soon  as  I  can.  If  I  find  it  not 
best  to  go  to  the  Signer,  I  can  at  least  accept  and 
use  the  second  part  of  your  advice." 

And  then  we  went  to  the  hotel,  I  to  dream  of  see- 
ing her  at  church  again  next  morning,  which  dream, 
as  is  often  their  way,  played  me  false,  for  none  of 
the  family  was  there. 


126 


CHAPTER  X 

ON  Monday  evening  we  arrived  at  the  military 
casino  about  half  past  nine.  Harry  looked  splendid 
in  evening  clothes.  He  had  the  advantage  of  height 
(being  about  six  feet)  which  always  helps  out 
greatly  that  style  of  dress.  He  would  be  under  no 
disadvantages  in  appearance  at  his  debut,  I  was 
thinking.  Harry  had  red  hair,  but  it  was  the  beau- 
tiful shade  of  iron-rust,  very  full  and  wavy,  kept 
long  enough  but  not  too  long,  and  his  skin  was  un- 
freckled  and  particularly  clear  and  fine  when  not 
peeling  from  sun-burn,  as  it  was  apt  to  do.  It  was 
evident  at  once  that  he  would  be  a  success  tonight. 
He  was  observed  from  all  sides  as  we  entered  and 
crossed  the  little  dancing-hall,  and  I  could  hear  the 
flutter  in  each  group  as  we  passed.  That  Harry 
himself  was  utterly  unconscious  of  this,  I  was  cer- 
tain. Vanity  was  never  one  of  his  failings.  The 
thought  struck  me,  this  evening,  that  it  would  have 
been  more  fitting  if  the  Fates  had  reversed  our  posi- 
tions. Gisela's  great-grandmother  had  loved  a  vio- 
linist; why  had  Gisela  not  loved  this  violinist  at 
first  sight?  I  hoped  Lubitza  would  find  him  so 
handsome  that  she  would  forget  the  family  schemes 
as  regarded  me,  for  this  evening,  at  least. 

Paulo  was  the  first  of  the  party  we  saw  and  as 
he  came  up  with  outstretched  hands  I  thought  him  a 
good  harness-mate  for  Harry.  In  his  way  he  was 
even  handsomer,  with  his  black  hair,  dark  skin  and 
big  gray  eyes  with  their  long,  thick  lashes.  He  was 
quite  as  big  a  man  as  Harry.  He  greeted  us  as  old 
friends.  I  was  to  learn  that  there  would  be  no  want 
127 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

of  cordiality  from  any  quarter,  for  this  night,  at 
least. 

"You  are  two  good  big  fellows,"  I  remarked.  "I 
feel  like  a  pumpkin  between  two  stakes." 

Paulo  felt  my  arm. 

"Oh,  don't  worry,"  he  answered  laughing.  "You 
are  not  needing  support  as  you  grow !" 

"He  never  did !"  said  Harry,  and  he  proceeded  to 
relate  to  Paulo  some  of  our  boyish  conflicts. 

The  place  was  beginning  to  fill  up,  especially  as 
quite  a  body  of  finely  uniformed  Austrian  officers 
filed  in  together.  Among  them  Paulo  pointed  out 
the  Commandant  of  the  garrison,  resplendent  with 
medals  and  orders.  I  began  to  be  uneasy  at  the 
sight  of  them. 

"Gentlemen,  let  us  find  our  ladies  and  get  them 
on  our  programs  before  that  bunch  gets  a  chance !" 

"Yes,  it  is  just  as  well,"  said  Harry. 

Paulo  led  us  into  a  sort  of  drawing-room  where, 
among  others,  were  our  ladies,  already  besieged. 

"We  seem  to  be  none  too  soon!"  remarked 
Harry. 

"Don't  worry,"  answered  Paulo.  "The  girls  will 
take  care  of  that.  Excuse  me,  gentlemen.  I  have 
like  cares  with  less  protection."  And  Paulo  gayly 
made  off. 

Lubitza  hailed  us. 

"Come,  come,  you  lazy  loiterers,  if  you  want  any 
dances !" 

She  gave  us  each  a  hand.  I  saluted  the  Signora 
and  she  informed  me  that  the  Signor  would  arrive 
later.  Then  I  pressed  through  a  little  side  group 
where  I  saw  Gisela.  She  turned  to  me  with  a  gra- 
cious smile.  She  was  gay,  her  color  heightened, 
and  was  a  beautiful  picture  in  a  dress  of  light  yellow 
silk  with  a  short  train,  the  bodice  generously 
128 


e    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

trimmed  with  rose  embroidery  but  all,  otherwise, 
simply  made.  She  seemed  never  to  vary  her  style 
of  hair-dressing — that  was  the  same  tonight  as  I 
had  ever  seen  it.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  sensible 
idea  for  a  girl  to  select  a  coiffure  which  became  her, 
and  stick  to  it. 

"How  many  may  I  have,  Signorina?" 

"Not  too  many,"  she  murmured.  "We  must  be 
careful." 

I  scratched  my  initials  in  several  free  places. 

"I  have  taken  the  dance  before  the  intermission 
and  the  two  after  it,  so  we  can  have  a  visit.  Do  you 
mind?" 

"All  right,  Doctor !" 

"We  can  go  to  supper  promptly  and  then  have  a 
little  time  together.  The  dance  after  the  intermis- 
sion is  a  quadrille  and  the  next  one  a  polka.  Do 
you  care  to  dance  them?" 

'No,  we  can  visit,  as  you  say." 

Lubitza  looked  at  me  reproachfully  as  I  came  up. 

"I  am  nearly  full,  Doctor!  Why  were  you  so 
long?  I  have  saved  this  waltz  for  you.  Perhaps 
we  can  find  one  or  two  more." 

The  Ingenieur  joined  us  and  completed  his  pro- 
gram which  was  already  nearly  full.  He  took  our 
programs  and  inspected  them. 

"Come,  you  are  both  too  slow.  There  are  lots  of 
girls  here  that  want  to  meet  you,  but  there  are  more 
men  than  women  tonight,  confound  it !  The  Ragusa 
lot  hasn't  come.  The  boat  is  late." 

But  they  came,  and  there  were  plenty  to  go 
around.  The  girls  were  not  all  pretty,  but  all  knew 
how  to  dress,  sometimes  daringly  as  to  colors,  but 
always  becomingly.  In  some  cases  the  company, 
both  as  to  men  and  women,  was  brightened  by  a 
number  of  local  peasant  holiday  costumes  worn  ?•; 
129 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

fancy  dress,  assisted  by  a  number  of  military  dress 
uniforms  and  a  fez  here  and  there.  The  men  in 
evening  clothes  displayed  the  same  fault  which  is 
universal  in  Austria  and  seems  to  be  growing  else- 
where; namely,  they  wore  those  ready-made  ties 
which  make  a  man  in  evening  clothes  look  like  a 
wax  figure  straight  out  of  Madame  Tussaud's  es- 
tablishment, and  electrified  for  the  occasion. 

The  excellent  orchestra  was  from  the  barracks. 
The  ball  opened  with  some  fancy  national  dances  in 
costume.  There  were  a  tarantella,  a  czardas,  a 
fascinating  reel-like  Montenegrin  fling,  a  Rouman- 
ian fancy  dance  that  made  me  think  of  our  old 
boyish  game  of  "crack-the-whip"  (for  many  na- 
tionalities were  represented  at  the  ball),  and  a  well- 
performed  minuet,  in  which  I  recognized,  for  one, 
the  banker's  daughter,  whom  I  had  met  this  eve- 
ning; a  little  dark,  bright-witted  girl,  almost  as 
pretty  as  Gisela. 

I  did  not  have  the  first  regular  dance  with  Gisela, 
and  had  inserted  a  fictitious  initial  in  that  number 
of  my  program  so  I  should  be  free  to  watch  her. 
It  was  a  waltz  and  Harry  was  her  partner.  I  saw 
at  once  that  she  did  not  dance  well,  probably 
through  want  of  practice,  but  she  would  in  time. 
Not  so  Lubitza,  who  was  a  sylph  on  the  floor — a 
veritable  feminine  Mercury  in  her  lightness  and 
speed ;  for  the  tempo  was  swift  and  all  danced  with 
verve  and  enthusiasm,  indifferent  to  the  warm  night 
and  to  wilting  collars.  They  danced  the  waltz  ever 
in  the  same  direction — no  reversing — and  it  made 
me  giddy  to  watch  them. 

But  after  several  dances  my  turn  with  Gisela 
came  at  last.  I  sought  her  out  as  care-free  and 
happy  as  I  had  ever  been,  for  all  seemed  rosy. 
Every  one,  including  the  late  coming  Signer  him- 

130 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

self,  was  so  cordial  and  gracious  that  I  forgot  all 
croakings  and  the  way  seemed  a  level  road  paved 
with  gold.  I  shall  never  forget  the  sweetness  of 
that  first  moment  when  she  placed  her  pretty  hand 
on  my  arm  and  we  began  to  waltz.  She  danced 
rather  far  from  me,  but  it  was  the  nearest  she  had 
ever  been,  and  it  was  enough  for  now.  But  the 
pace  was  high  and  I  was  unused  to  the  absence  of 
reversing,  and  was  soon  giddy.  She  was  likewise 
not  in  practice  and  soon  both  had  enough.  We 
gave  it  up  with  a  laugh  and  wandered  to  a  corner 
where  we  saw  Harry  and  Lubitza  with  the  Inge- 
nieur  and  the  banker's  daughter  sitting  out  the 
waltz.  They  hailed  us. 

"Ha!    Drunk?"  laughed  Harry. 

"Yes,  and  yet  thirsty." 

Harry  gave  his  chair  to  Gisela.  He  whispered  in 
my  ear: 

"Say,  Ed,  how  many  collars  did  you  bring?  I 
did  not  foresee  this  pace  and  have  only  two  more 
extra  ones — confound  it !" 

"Oh,  I've  got  a  box  full.    I  can  lend  you  some." 

"Oh,  yes!  Now  do  you  think  a  collar,  right  for 
your  bull  neck,  would  fit  me?" 

I  swung  my  foot  and  down  he  came.  I  had  not 
intended  it,  but  the  floor  was  like  a  surface  of  plate 
glass,  and  it  was  easier  than  I  expected. 

All  burst  into  a  laugh.  A  gay  crowd  gathered 
around  us,  clapped  their  hands  and  begged  me  to  do 
it  again.  Harry  got  up,  laughing,  and  started  for 
me,  but  the  Ingenieur  seized  him  and  whispered  in 
his  ear.  Harry  took  my  arm  and  marched  me  a 
little  way  off. 

"See  here,  Ed,  go  and  take  the  next  dance  with 
Signorina  Atenasio— the  Ragusa  girl — or  get  her 
a  partner ;  and  if  I  am  not  back  yet,  look  to  Frau- 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

lein  Mauer.  I've  got  to  make  a  quick  sprint  to  the 
hotel  and  change  my  trousers.  They're  split;  you 
jackass!* 

I  managed  it  with  the  help  of  the  Ingenieur  and 
Paulo.  In  about  twenty  minutes  I  saw  him  rapidly 
making  his  way  back  through  the  dancers  in  my 
direction.  I  was  dancing  with  Lubitza.  He  was 
pale  and  earnest.  As  he  caught  us  he  said  hur- 
riedly : 

"Ed,  want  to  see  you  soon  as  possible.  Will  wait 
in  drawing-room!" 

"Is  your  friend  really  angry  with  you?"  Lu- 
bitza asked. 

"Seems  so.     But  it  will  be  all  right." 

I  hoped  it  was  not  true  and  meaning  to  make 
amends,  I  did  not  keep  Harry  waiting  longer  than 
I  had  to.  When  I  entered  the  room  he  was  ner- 
vously pacing  the  floor.  He  came  to  me  at  once. 

"Ed,  our  rooms  at  the  hotel  have  been  ransacked 
— every  drawer  and  every  trunk  is  in  disorder." 

"Harry !' 

"And  I  don't  like  the  look  of  it !  I  had  forgotten 
my  watch,  but  it  is  still  in  the  washstand  drawer 
where  I  put  it,  although  the  drawer  is  standing 
open  and  has  been  gone  through.  It  wasn't  rob- 
bery! What  do  you  make  of  it?" 

The  banker's  packet  came  into  my  mind  at  once, 
and  I  grew  cold.  I  had  not  yet  told  Harry  about  it. 
I  grabbed  his  arm. 

"Harry !     Think !    Was  my  grip  disturbed  ?" 

"It  was  standing  open.  Did  you  have  your  cash 
in  that?" 

But  I  had  left  him  and  was  speeding  bare-headed 
to  the  hotel.  The  grip  had  a  false  bottom  which 
had  been  arranged  for  carrying  an  emergency 
shirt.  I  had  placed  the  two  envelopes  in  there  and 

132 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

locked  the  valise.  This  false  bottom  did  not  take 
up  much  room  and  opened  from  the  inside.  I 
hoped — I  believed  they  had  not  found  it,  but  I 
could  not  wait  to  be  sure. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  door  I  was  gasping  and 
gulping  for  breath.  Finally  I  managed  to  undo  the 
door,  turn  on  the  light  and  look  about.  There  came 
an  immediate  rap.  Harry  had  followed  me.  I  let 
him  in,  locked  the  door  and  ran  to  the  open  valise, 
dumped  out  the  disturbed  contents  and  pulled  up  the 
false  bottom.  The  envelopes  lay  there,  undis- 
turbed. I  sat  down  on  the  floor  and  mopped  my 
face  and  neck.  Harry  was  watching  me. 

"Do  you  keep  your  letter  of  credit  there?" 

"No.  The  place  was  only  made  for  an  extra 
shirt.  It  wasn't  there  originally.  I  had  it  fitted 
in." 

He  examined  it  attentively. 

"It  is  well  done,"  he  remarked.  "The  workman 
evidently  thought  it  was  intended  for  smuggling." 
And  he  closed  it  again. 

"I'll  tell  you  about  those  papers  later.  I  meant 
to  do  so  before.  I  am  to  take  them  to  Cettinje." 

He  frowned. 

"You'll  get  enough  of  this  thing  before  much 
longer,  I'll  bet!  Leave  them  where  they  are.  It  is 
not  likely  they'll  come  again.  Change  your  linen 
and  let  us  get  back." 

"Do  you  believe  this  visit  we  have  received  has 
any  connection  with  our  friends  here?" 

"Can't  make  a  guess.  But  it  won't  do  any  harm 
for  you  to  see  the  Signorina's  uncle  as  soon  as 
you  can,  and  carry  out  the  plan." 

"I'll  try  to  do  so  tonight,  yet!" 

"The  sooner  the  better!" 

I  had  several  apologies  to  neglected  partners  to 
133 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

make  when  I  got  back  to  the  ballroom,  and  by  the 
time  I  had  smoothed  these  pretty  ruffled  feathers  as 
much  as  possible  the  last  dance  before  the  intermis- 
sion was  due.  I  found  Gisela  waiting  for  me  in  the 
drawing-room.  The  fine  underlip  was  pouting  a 
little. 

"You  have  been  gone  a  long  time,  Doctor  Ran- 
some." 

"Have  we  missed  a  dance?"  and  I  scanned  the 
program. 

"Oh,  no.  But  the  last  I  saw  of  you  you  were 
dancing  with  Lubitza  and  I  haven't  seen  either  of 
you  since!" 

I  smiled  happily.  What  luck  that  the  rooms  had 
been  ransacked! 

"I  haven't  seen  her  since  our  dance,  either,  Signo- 
rina.  I'll  tell  you  about  what  kept  me — I  have 
much  to  say  to  you,  and  it  is  serious.  Let  us  go 
and  have  supper  now  so  we  can  have  as  long  a 
time  together  as  possible." 

Arrived  in  the  supper  room,  we  found  we  were 
none  too  soon,  for  other  couples  of  the  same  mind 
were  already  there,  and  more  coming.  Lubitza 
was  at  the  table  with  an  army  officer.  She  caught 
sight  of  us. 

"I  wish  it  were  as  cool  here  as  in  the  park,"  and 
she  winked  with  both  eyes  and  laughed. 

"You  were  with  her,  Doctor !" 

"No,  Signorina,  upon  my  word  of  honor,  I  was 
not,  not  since  the  conclusion  of  our  last  dance." 

"Let  me  see  your  program." 

"I  handed  it  to  her.  I  was  full  of  inward  mer- 
riment. Her  face  cleared. 

"I  wasn't  with  any  of  these  others,  either,  dear. 
I  will  tell  you  where  I  was  later.     I  haven't  seen 
Lubitza  for  more  than  a  half  hour." 
134 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  * 

"She  is  smitten  with  you!" 

"Nonsense.     She  is  only  trying  to  tease — me." 

"Me.  But  I  don't  believe  that  is  her  only  reason. 
I  tell  .you  again,  Doctor — flirt  with  anybody  else 
you  please,  but  not  with  her !  I  warn  you  I  won't 
bear  even  the  beginning  of  it !  I  hate  her !" 

"Don't  worry,  little  sweetheart.  I  want  you  so 
badly  that  I  wouldn't  risk  any  flirtation  even  if  I 
cared  to  take  one  on.  And  Lubitza  does  not  at- 
tract me — not  in  any  way  whatever." 

The  clouds  were  all  gone  now  and  the  fine  little 
face  was  itself  once  more, — and  the  ices  were  good. 

"Do  you  love  me,  dear?" 

"I — I  don't  know — but — something  is  the  matter 
with  me !" 

I  couldn't  have  helped  the  laugh  if  somebody  had 
been  choking  me.  She  grew  rosy  and  joined  in  it. 

"What's  that  about  love?"  asked  the  Ragusa  girl 
who  was  sitting  opposite  us. 

"Oh,  the  Doctor  says  it  is  an  illness  and  can  be 
cured  with  salts  and  senna." 

"Bah !  Wretch !  Why  do  you  sit  with  him  ?"  and 
she  disgustedly  turned  to  her  partner  again. 

Gisela  liked  salami  sandwiches  with  caviare. 

"Why  were  you  gone  so  long?" 

"Harry  had  to  go  to  the  hotel  to  make  a  change, 
and  when  he  got  there  he  found  that  both  of  our 
rooms  had  been  ransacked.  He  came  back  and 
called  me.' 

She  dropped  her  fork  in  surprise. 

"Have  you  lost  much  ?" 

"Nothing  at  all.  It  was  not  for  common  rob- 
bery, Signorina,  for  Harry's  watch  was  in  plain 
sight  and  was  not  taken." 

She  rose  out  of  her  chair. 
135 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Let  us  go  and  tell  uncle  at  once.  Perhaps  he 
can" 

"No,  no — above  all,  not  that!  Let  me  have  my 
talk  with  you  first.  Let  us  finish  supper  and  go 
out  into  the  park.  Others  of  the  company  have 
gone  there." 

Neither  of  us  wanted  more.  We  went  to  the 
Signora  and  obtained  permission  with  the  injunc- 
tion not  to  stay  too  long.  We  rapidly  reached  the 
Marine  Gate  and  walked  up  the  Marina.  Having 
gained  the  park,  we  sought  a  secluded  bench  by  the 
water  side.  Other  couples  were  wandering  about 
but  none  came  near  us. 

"Signorina,  there  are  reasons  why  I  felt  I  ought 
to  declare  myself  to  your  uncle  as  soon  as  possible 
— I  know,  dear, — he  will  not  give  his  consent  now. 
But  I  want  your  permission  to  go  to  him.  He  need 
not  know  that  I  have  asked  you  first." 

"Alas,  Doctor,  that  will  end  our  very  acquain- 
tanceship. You  will  see!" 

"Listen,  Gisela.  I  love  you  better  than  my  life! 
If  I  do  not  marry  you,  I  will  never  wed  another! 
Do  you  believe  me?" 

"I — yes,  Edu —  Doctor.  If  I  did  not  believe  you 
were  true,  I  would  not  listen  to  you." 

"Well,  Gisela,  if  your  uncle  will  not  consent,  I 
will  always  wait  for  you.  I'll  wait — I'll  wait, 
Gisela,  until  I  know  that  you  have  married  some- 
body else — and  then  '  I'll  wait — until  I  can  forget 
you.  Do  you  understand,  sweetheart?" 

"Yes,  Edu—  D—  E— du— ard." 

"Never  forget  what  I  have  said,  sweetheart.  Now 
listen!  I  would  mourn  indeed  if  our  acquaintance 
had  to  be  interrupted;  but — Gisela — better  that 
than  something  else!  Unless" 

"What  do  you  mean,  E-du-ard?" 
136 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  explained  Harry's  suspicions  at  length,  and  all 
the  grounds  which  made  for  them.  As  I  proceeded 
she  sat  up  straight  and  looked  me  directly  in  the 
face.  By  the  moonlight  I  could  see  that  the  firm  lit- 
tle mouth  was  compressed  into  a  line.  After  I  had 
finished  she  continued  to  gaze  at  me  some  moments, 
then  she  drew  a  long  breath  and  looked  away  over 
the  gulf. 

"So,  sweetheart,  you  see,  for  your  own  protection 
— in  order  to  avoid  anything  that  would  serve  them 
as  an  excuse — in  order  to  make  them  understand 
at  once  that  I  cannot  be  used  as  a  tool  against  you 
— I  must  see  your  uncle  and  declare  myself.  True, 
in  that  way,  we  may  be  kept  more  or  less  apart 
thereafter.  But  after  you  have  reached  your  ma- 
jority they  can  separate  us  no  longer, — they  will 
also  no  longer  have  any  interest  in  doing  so.  I 
love  you,  sweetheart — better  than  my  life.  If  nec- 
essary I  can  wait  for  you.  If  you  love  me,  you  can 
wait  for  me.  So  in  three  years  we  can  marry.  Un- 
less"  

"Unless  what,  Eduard?" 

I  studied  her  a  moment.  She  put  her  hand  on 
my  arm. 

"Unless  what?" 

"Gisela  dear,  you  are  to  inherit  a  large  estate.  I 
am  nothing  like  as  well  off  as  you  will  be,  but  I 
have  enough  for  us  both  if  we  be  satisfied  to  live 
modestly.  We  can  be  happy  and  comfortable  on 
what  I  have.  Do  you  think  you  could  let  the  es- 
tates go,  or  run  the  risk  of  it,  and  marry  me  in 
defiance  of  your  people?  Probably  you  could  still 
fight  for  your  estate  in  court." 

She  caught  her  breath  and  her  eyes  blazed.     In 
defiance  of  time  and  place  she  screamed — 
137 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"What!  Give  up  all  to  that  abominable  selfish 
vixen  Lu " 

I  clapped  my  hand  on  her  mouth. 

'Signorina!  Are  you  mad?  Remember  where 
we  are!" 

She  pulled  my  hand  away  from  her  face  but  held 
it  tightly  in  her  own. 

After  a  little  her  breast  ceased  its  heaving  and  the 
eyes  became  soft  again.  She  released  my  hand  and 
began  nervously  fanning  herself.  Then  she  snapped 
the  fan  to,  and  spoke  kindly  but  firmly: 

"Signer,  if  you  were  a  Croesus,  there  would  not 
be  enough  for  me  without  my  patrimony.  Even  if 
that  were  no  more  than  a  thousand  crowns,  I  would 
never  give  it  to  my  cousin  and  that  foul-minded 
Austrian.  If  it  were  uncle,  I  would  not  mind — but 
not  to  them,  not  as  long  as  I  am  in  my  right  mind, 
Signor;  not  as  long  as  I  have  breath  left  in  my 
body,  and  can  fight  them.  No  Eduard,  that  would 
not  do  at  all — you  have  not  at  all  understood  my 
feelings  in  this  matter.  Your  words  have  their 
sweetness.  They  show  that  you  love  me  for  myself 
and  not  for  what  you  might  get  through  me."  (She 
took  both  of  my  hands  in  hers.)  "Believe  me,  the 
meaning  of  your  words  has  not  been  lost  on  me — 
I  have  understood."  (She  released  my  hands  and 
sat  further  away.)  "But,  Signor  Eduard,  I  will  be 
honest  with  you.  I  cannot  truthfully  say  I  love  you 
yet,  but  I  believe  I  soon  shall — no,  no,  wait! — but 
Eduard,  if  I  loved  you  as  much  already  as  any 
woman  can  a  man,  I  still  could  not  do  this.  Give 
all  to  Lubitza!  That  vixen!  No,  Eduard,  my 
hate  for  her  is  older  than  my  fondness  or  love  for 
you,  and  will  not  down  so  easily !" 

I  had  expected  it  would  be  so.  I  had  had  little 
hope  of  any  other  decision  from  that  clean-cut  firm 

138 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

little  mouth.  And  who  could  blame  her?  I  had  lit- 
tle doubt  that  she  had  reason  enough  to  hate  her 
cousin.  All  that  was  new  in  her  speech  was  the 
glimpse  which  it  afforded  of  the  strain  of  iron  which 
stiffened  that  fine  little  nature  and  made  it  some- 
thing else  than  dough. 

"Do  you  hate  Paulo,  too,  Gisela?" 

"Paulo  is  a  sneak,  Eduard !  Look  out  for  him. 
He  is  a  keyhole  adept.  No,  I  don't  hate  him — he 
is  not  worth  hating." 

"Then,  Gisela,  we  must  try  if  your  uncle  will 
give  you  to  me" 

"That  is  idle." 

"And  if  he  will  not,  we  will  wait.  I  will  make 
him  understand,  once  and  for  all,  that  if  they  have 
any  such  plot  in  their  heads,  I  am  not  to  be  used, 
and  that  will  clear  our  path." 

"Such  a  plot  would  not  help  them,  anyhow,  as 
far  as  taking  my  heritage  eoes.  If  they  succeed  in 
depriving  me  of  it,  I  give  you  my  word  that  Lu- 
bitza  shall  never  enjoy  it." 

"How  will  you  prevent  it?" 

"I  have  my  plan." 

But  I  couldn't  remain  so  serious.  Besides,  I  did 
not  know  when  I  would  again  have  her  thus  all  to 
myself. 

"Gisela,  give  me  my  heritage !" 

"And  pray  what  is  that?" 

"A  kiss!" 

She  promptly  moved  to  the  other  end  of  the 
seat,  and  I  could  see  the  saucy  twinkle  in  her  eyes. 

"Take  it ! — if  you  can." 

I  sprung  at  her,  but  she  was  strong.  In  the 
course  of  the  scuffle  something  fell  from  the  bosom 
of  her  dress  onto  the  ground.  I  found  that  if  I 
139 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

succeeded  it  would  be  at  the  cost  of  wrecking  her 
ball  costume,  so  I  gave  it  up  for  now. 

"Aha,  Signer!    Not  so  easy,  is  it?" 

"I  see,  Gisela,  that  you  are  obstinately  opposed 
to  giving  up  a  heritage." 

She  laughed  and  bent  down  to  pick  up  the  thing 
that  had  fallen.  It  was  a  small  stiletto  with  a 
richly  jeweled  handle,  in  a  jeweled  sheath.  She 
drew  it  from  the  sheath  and  the  style  glittered  in 
the  moonlight.  She  passed  it  to  me.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful old  piece  of  work. 

"Do  you  always  carry  this?" 

"Oh,  dear,  no,  Eduard!  I  brought  it  tonight 
because  I  meant  to  give  it  to  you.  You  remember 
uncle  told  me  to  when  we  were  looking  at  the  old 
violin." 

"Well,  give  it  to  me  now." 

"No,  I  have  changed  my  mind." 

She  was  very  beautiful  in  her  present  high  color 
which  not  even  the  moonlight  could  pale.  Natures 
that  can  hate  well,  can  also  love  well.  Let  her 
once  love  me  as  well  as  she  hated  her  cousin — let 
that  love  for  me  become  a  little  older  and  a  more 
constant  and  dominant  thought,  and  I  felt  sure  that 
Lubitzas,  estates  and  all  else  would  fall  readily  into 
the  background.  Time  was  flying.  The  intermis- 
sion was  long  over,  I  was  sure. 

"Signorina,  have  I  your  permission  to  ask  your 
uncle  for  you?" 

"I  do  not  know  if  I  love  you,  Signer !" 

"Ah,  then,  Signorina, — under  the  circumstances 
— I  have  nothing  more  to  do  in  Cattaro.  Harry  has 
been  waiting  to  go  north  for  several  days.  We 
shall  pack  up  tomorrow  and  leave  on  the  noon 
steamer.  I  have  only  to  say  good-bye,  then,  Signo- 
rina." 

140 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Her  eyes  shone  with  mirth. 

"Why  wait  until  noon,  Doctor?  You  can  still 
pack  tonight — right  away.  I'll  see  that  your  ball 
partners  are  cared  for.  You  can  leave  in  the  morn- 
ing at  eight  by  the  local  gulf -boat  and  go  to  Castel 
Nuovo.  From  there  you  can  go  to  Ragusa  horse- 
back. In  that  way  you  can  be  in  Ragusa  before  the 
Ragusa  girls  get  back,  and  give  them  a  delightful 
surprise  by  meeting  them  on  the  pier  at  Gravosa. 
Your  trunks  can  go  later  by  the  noon  boat.  They 
say  the  ride  from  Castel  Nuovo  to  Ragusa  is  very 
wild.  That  will  just  suit  your  present  mood." 

"Farewell,  Signorina !" 

I  was  in  high  dudgeon  and  my  bow  was  as  sweep- 
ing as  that  of  an  olden  time  knight  in  his  saddle.  I 
left  her  sitting  there  and  strode  rapidly  back  to  the 
ball-room.  I  was  just  in  time  to  settle  the  disquiet 
of  the  banker's  daughter,  for  our  dance  had  begun. 

"I  was  not  sure  you  would  come — it  is  a  pleasant 
surprise,  Signer.  I  fear  that  in  only  one  ball  you 
and  your  friend  have  acquired  a  bad  name  for 
keeping  engagements." 

But  she  was  all  right  in  a  moment.  She  was  a 
bright,  gay  little  girl  and  loved  dancing.  In  spite  of 
myself  I  caught  her  mood  for  the  moment,  and  en- 
joyed myself.  As  I  took  her  to  her  seat  she  pre- 
sented her  mother  who  had  not  been  with  her  when 
I  obtained  the  dance.  As  I  left,  I  whispered  in  the 
daughter's  ear: 

"Tell  your  father  that  my  friend's  and  my  rooms 
were  plundered  tonight,  but  please  do  not  mention 
it  to  anyone  else.  We  lost  nothing  of  any  conse- 
quence." 

I  nodded  good-bye  in  the  midst  of  her  surprise. 
Then  came  two  dances,  I  do  not  remember  with , 
141 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

whom.     I  was  keen  to  get  Harry's  ear  a  moment. 
Finally  I   succeeded. 

"All  is  off  with  the  Signorina.  We  can  go  north 
in  a  couple  of  days." 

"What's  up?    Have  you  scrapped?" 

"Yes." 

"Ah  !    So  much  the  better !" 

But  in  a  moment  he  smiled. 

"When  it  is  on  again,  let  me  know.  I  won't  pack 
up  yet." 

"She  doesn't  care  a  rap  for  me,  and  I  am  not 
going  to  burn  my  fingers  any  more.  I'll  go  to  Cet- 
tinje  tomorrow  and  we  can  go  north  Thursday." 

"You  won't  talk  with  her  uncle  then?" 

"What  for?    The  thing  is  off." 

He  thought  a  moment. 

"Do  it  anyway — tonight.  You  may  make  it  up, 
and  then  this  urgent  thing  will  be  done.  In  any  case, 
it  won't  do  any  harm,  and  we  can  form  an  idea  if 
we  have  been  right.  Tell  the  uncle  you  want  her, 
and  tell  him  also  that  we  go  this  week.  That  will 
show  him  what  your  intentions  are.  I  must  be 
off." 

No,  it  could  not  do  any  harm  and  I  was  as  curi- 
ous as  Harry  to  know  if  we  had  been  right.  After 
spending  a  half  hour  cornering  Harry,  the  Ingenieur 
and  Paulo,  I  succeeded  in  clearing  a  full  hour 
for  Signor  Tomanovich.  I  knew  he  was,  or  had 
been,  playing  taroque  in  a  room  upstairs  with  some 
other  old  fellows.  I  made  my  way  there. 

The  several  elderly  men  present  had  grown  tired 
of  cards  and  were  talking  politics.  As  I  entered 
the  Signor  courteously  rose  and  came  to  meet  me. 

"Are  the  ladies  ready  to  go  home?"  he  asked. 

"Oh,  dear,  no !  No  sign  of  that,  that  I  know  of. 
Signor,  can  you  give  me  a  little  time  ?" 

142 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Why,  certainly,  my  boy!  We  can  step  out 
onto  the  balcony.  Come  this  way." 

"After  you,  Signer !" 

He  passed  out  and  I  followed.  It  was  already 
just  daybreak,  and  the  air  was  delicious.  We  found 
chairs. 

"Signor,  when  I  was  on  my  way  to  Cattaro  with 
your  prospective  son-in-law,  it  did  not  occur  to  me 
that  I  was  to  meet  my  own  fate  here,  but  that  has 
happened.  I  love  your  niece.  May  I  marry  her  if 
I  can  win  her?" 

He  did  not  seem  exactly  consumed  by  surprise. 
He  looked  at  me  kindly  and  quizzically — then  more 
seriously.  Then,  still  smiling  slightly,  his  gaze 
sought  the  open  square  which  lay  in  front  of  the 
Casino.  "What  a  thing  it  is  to  be  young!"  he  re- 
marked to  himself.  A  rag-a-muffin  below  was  beg- 
ging. He  threw  him  a  kreutzer.  Then  he  smiled 
musingly  again. 

"Doctor  Eduard,  I  fancy  I  am  the  only  man  liv- 
ing in  Austria  today  who  ever  received  a  marriage 
proposal  for  his  ward  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Well,  good  work  can  be  done  early  in  the 
morning."  Then  he  turned  to  me. 

"Of  course  we  have  noticed  that  you  were  inter- 
ested in  Gisela,  but  I  did  not  expect  a  visit  quite  so 
soon.  No  matter.  Does  my  niece  second  your 
wishes?" 

"I  think  not,  Signor.  That  must  come  later,"  I 
looked  down. 

"Ah !  First  catch  your  hare" Well,  Doctor 

Eduard,  you  have  gone  about  the  matter  in  the 
honorable  old-fashioned  way." 

"You  may  always  depend  upon  it,  Signor,  that  I 
shall  never  seek  her  in  any  other  than  the  honor- 
able way!" 


The    A  c  c  ur  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

He  looked  up  at  me  keenly  and  I  met  him  eye  to 
eye.  His  face  softened  a  little. 

"No,  I  don't  believe  you  would.  We  have  several 
people  in  these  parts  who  have  been  in  your  coun- 
try and  learned  your  language.  They  have  brought 
back  two  idioms  of  yours  which  are  now  under- 
stood almost  everywhere.  They  are  'square'  and 
'all  right/  I  believe  that  both  of  these  expres- 
sions will  apply  to  you,  Herr  Doktor." 

"Thank  you.  I  will  say  nothing  as  to  their  gen- 
eral application,  but  they  will  answer  correctly  in 
this  matter." 

"Schon!    Have  you  spoken  to  my  niece  at  all?" 

"We  had  a  conversation  tonight." 

"And  you  say  you  do  not  know  if  she  love  you  ?" 

"I  am  certain  she  does  not — yet,"  I  answered 
very  bitterly. 

"Ah !  Then  not  much  can  be  done,  Herr  Doktor. 
If  she  does  not  love  you,  of  what  use  to  give  my 
permission?  I  could  never  think  of  coercing  her." 

It  required  all  my  strength  to  repress  the  smile. 
Of  course  he  would  not  coerce  her! 

"I  have  asked  permission  to  win  and  to  wed  her 
— not  merely  to  wed." 

"To  win  her,  if  you  can,  in  the  honorable  way,  is 
your  right  by  the  laws  of  Nature.  To  wed  her  is 
another  matter,  my  boy.  It  is  not  so  simple.  Do 
you  know  anything  of  her  situation?" 

"Every  one  here  seems  to  know  something  of  the 
Signorina's  status  in  life,  Signer,  but  I  knew  noth- 
ing of  that  when  I  first  saw  and  loved  her.  I  am 
not  a  penniless  adventurer,  Signor.  I  am  not  rich 
like  the  Signorina  will  be,  but  I  have  a  competence 
— enough  to  keep  up  a  modest  house,  and  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned  there  is  no  question  of  a  mar- 

144 


The    yf  c  c  u  r  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

riage  dot.  I  would  be  only  too  happy  to  take  her 
without  a  kreutzer,  sir." 

There  seemed  to  be  plenty  of  sympathy  and  in- 
terest in  his  face.  He  seemed  to  be  revolving  many 
things  in  his  mind  as  he  watched  me.  "I  wish 
things  were  reversed,"  he  murmured,  half  to  him- 
self. 

"Reversed?  How?" 

"I  was  thinking  of  my  own  daughter,  Herr  Dok- 
tor.  I  love  both  the  girls,  but  of  course"- 

"Your  daughter  is  already  engaged,  is  she  not?" 

"Oh,  I  doubt  very  much  if  that  marriage  ever 
take  place,  Herr  Doktor!  Besides,  she  is  not 
formally  betrothed." 

"If  you  allowed  your  own  daughter  to  be  engaged 
why  not  allow  your  niece?  Your  daughter  is  two 
years  younger,  is  she  not?" 

"Oh,  that  is  a  different  matter — and  you  are 
speaking  of  their  years  only.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
my  niece  is  much  the  younger." 

He  had  me  there,  for  it  was  true  enough. 

"Is  it  not  your  duty  to  allow  your  niece  to  marry 
when  she  can  marry  happily — and  fairly  well?  Is 
it  not  safest  and  best  for  her?" 

The  "uestion  was  a  pretty  daring  one  and  I 
would  never  have  risked  it  if  I  had  felt  that  I  had 
much  to  lose.  But  I  had  no  more  real  hope  and  did 
not  care  very  much  what  happened. 

"I  am  quite  sure  that  my  duty  to  my  niece  is  best 
understood  by  myself,"  he  responded  very  stiffly. 

"Pardon  me,  Signer,  if  I  have  seemed  offensive. 
I  did  not  mean  to  be.  I'll  grant  that  you  are  in  a 
better  position  than  I,  to  know  what  is  best  for  her. 
Well,  in  fine,  Signor,  if  I  have  understood  you 
rightly,  you  do  not  object  to  my  trying  to  win  the 

145 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Signorina,  but  you  will  not  agree  that  I  may  have 
her,  if  I  win  her." 

"Not  until  she  be  of  legal  age,  Herr  Doktor.  I 
can  say  nothing  else,  and  I  beg  of  you,  boy,  do  not 
take  the  refusal  as  personal  in  any  sense.  I  would 
make  the  same  answer  to  any  other  person  what- 
ever. Indeed,  as  far  as  that  is  concerned,  I  hope 
you  will  marry  her  at  the  proper  time.  According 
to  my  best  judgment,  I  could  wish  her  nothing  bet- 
ter. I  have  taken  a  great  fancy  to  you,  boy,  and 
I  like  you  none  the  less  for  your  open  and  plain 
speaking.  Well,  it  is  growing  light  and  I  see  the 
fish  boats  are  setting  out  to  sea.  I  think  the  ladies 
will  have  had  enough  by  now." 

I  found  the  ball  room  nearly  empty  when  I  re- 
turned. Our  friends  were  not  there.  I  arrived  in 
time  for  the  very  last  dance  and  had  it  with  the 
Ragusa  girl.  After  this,  on  searching  for  them,  I 
found  that  the  Tomanovich  family  had  departed. 
As  I  was  leaving  the  Casino  Harry  joined  me. 

"Well,  I  danced  your  dance  with  the  Signorina 
and  put  a  hint  in  her  ear  why  you  were  not  there. 
Did  you  have  it  out  with  him?" 

I  repeated  the  conversation. 

"Aha !  Utterly  non-commital !  We  were  right ! 
Now  you  will  find  the  gates  barred !" 

"It  does  not  matter,"  I  answered. 


146 


CHAPTER  XI 

IT  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  Harry  and  I 
got  about  again.  By  the  time  we  had  had  coffee 
and  were  out  of  doors  the  usual  gay  evening  crowd 
had  gathered  on  the  Riva.  Very  few  of  our  ac- 
quaintances were  there,  but  the  bankers'  daughter 
was  one  of  the  exceptions.  She  was  there  with 
some  friends  who  had  not  stayed  so  late,  and  was 
as  fresh  as  any  of  them.  She  hailed  me  and  pre- 
sented me  to  her  companions.  She  apologized  for 
her  fault-finding  speech  of  the  previous  evening  and 
managed  to  whisper  in  my  ear: 

"Father  wants  to  see  you  before  you  go  to 
Ragusa.  He  told  me  to  tell  you  quietly." 

"Thank  you,  Signorina.  I'll  call  and  see  him 
tomorrow  morning." 

So  I  could  not  go  to  Cettinje  tomorrow.  Per- 
haps it  would  not  be  necessary  to  go  at  all. 

For  the  rest,  our  evening  was  a  lonesome  one. 
Finally  Harry  and  I  seated  ourselves  upon  a  timber 
at  the  edge  of  the  pier. 

"You  have  not  yet  told  me  about  the  papers  in 
your  valise.  Just  as  you  please,  you  know." 

Harry  changed  his  seat  so  he  would  face  land- 
ward, and  I  murmured  a  recount  of  my  interview 
with  the  banker  and  added  that  I  was  to  call  and 
see  him  the  next  morning.  He  said: 

"This  is  connected  with  some  political  crooked- 
ness as  sure  as  you  are  a  foot  high.  Wash  your 
hands  of  it,  Ed!  You  can  do  so  tomorrow  morn- 
ing." 

147 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  will  see  what  the  banker  has  to  say.  Perhaps 
he  has  changed  his  mind  and  does  not  wish  the 
message  to  go." 

"I  sincerely  hope  so!  If  not,  refuse  to  take  it. 
You  are  justified  after  what  happened  last  night. 
At  least  demand  some  knowledge  of  what  you  are 
doing.  Is  it  too  delicate  a  question  if  I  ask  you 
why  you  quarreled  with  the  Signorina?  She  did 
not  seem  very  happy  the  rest  of  the  evening,  Ed." 

"Oh,  not  at  all,"  and  I  related  this,  also. 

"Oh,  you  chump!  And  you  took  good  care  to 
make  it  a  final  quarrel,  too  ! — and  you  deserted  your 
dance  with  her  without  getting  her  a  partner — for 
it  was  only  by  chance  that  I  saw  her  sitting  it  out !" 

"Yes,  I  did  not  seek  her  afterward." 

"Oh  well,  your  later  confab  with  her  uncle  may 
make  her  feel  like  excusing  you.  Besides,  I  am 
not  up  in  women,  but  I  dare  say  the  Ingenieur  is 
not  wrong  in  some  of  his  views — I  dare  say  it 
does  no  harm  for  a  woman  to  find  that  we  have  an 
edge.  Still,  she  has  a  good  deal  to  forgive.  You 
left  her,  it  seems,  away  out  in  the  park.  She  had 
to  return  alone  through  the  park,  the  Riva  and  the 
Marine  gate.  Ed,  if  she  forgives  that  very  soon, 
you  can  conclude  that  she  thinks  a  lot  of  you !  It 
was  an  insult !  And  about  nothing !" 

This  view  of  the  matter  was  new,  and  shamed 
me.  Harry  was  right!  What  a  pitiable  bad-tem- 
pered out-and-out  fool  I  had  been.  Poor,  dear  girl 
— she  should  have  my  best  apology  as  soon  as  I 
could  get  it  to  her.  And,  too,  she  must  be  reasonable 
enough  to  accept  it,  at  least  after  a  day  or  two,  for 
I  had  a  little  on  my  side.  Our  conversation  had  not 
been  one  to  be  treated  flippantly,  and  she  knew  that 
my  time  in  Cattaro,  at  best,  could  not  be  much  pro- 
longed. 

148 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Harry,  do  you  suppose  our  rooms  were  visited 
last  night  on  account  of" 

Harry  gripped  my  arm  until  I  almost  sung  out. 
He  had  been  facing  inward,  I  outward,  as  we  sat. 
The  moon  had  not  yet  risen  and  the  light  was  small 
and  fitful. 

"Ed,  unless  I  am  very  much  mistaken,  there  go 
Paulo  and  that  Greek  priest !  Yes,  it  is  they.  They 
are  walking  toward  the  end  of  the  pier.  I'd  give 
something  to  hear  what  they  are  saying." 

"Probably  they  are  speaking  in  Servian." 

We  watched  them.  They  were  conversing  very 
earnestly  with  their  heads  close  together.  They 
sat  down  upon  a  block  of  stone  at  the  very  edge  of 
the  pier  at  the  northerly  corner.  We  waited  in 
silence  for  a  couple  of  minutes.  Harry  looked  about 
him  a  little. 

"Ed,  I  am  going  to  have  a  try  at  it.  They  may 
be  talking  Italian.  I  believe  there  is  mischief  in 
that  big  curly  headed  pater,  and  I  don't  trust  Paulo 
or  his  friendship  any  thousand  miles !" 

The  Signorina  had  said  he  was  a  sneak  and  called 
him  a  "keyhole  adept."  It  wouldn't  be  bad  to  give 
him  a  dose  of  his  own  medicine.  But  I  had  not 
happened  to  repeat  this  to  Harry.  Paulo's  behavior 
to  us  had  been  more  than  above  reproach,  but  on  the 
subject  of  these  people  Harry  was  incorrigible. 

"Well,  don't  get  caught,  Harry.  When  we 
eavesdrop  we  put  ourselves  in  the  wrong." 

"Oh,  don't  worry!  Eavesdropping  is  no  sin  in 
Europe,  for  man  or  woman.  It  is  quite  according 
to  the  Code." 

"But  you  can't  get  near  enough.  There  is  no 
cover  near  enough." 

But  Harry  was  not  to  be  turned  from  his  pur- 
pose. 

149 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"That  is  a  precious  pair,  Ed,  and  I  am  going  to 
hear  what  they  are  saying !" 

A  dory  belonging  to  a  neighboring  wine  boat  was 
riding  alongside  of  the  pier,  barely  visible  in  the 
shadow  of  its  parent.  Harry's  eye  fell  upon  that. 
He  sighted  along  the  pier  and  leaned  over  and 
looked  at  its  face. 

"There  is  room  between  the  bang-rail  of  the 
pier  and  the  timber  next  below  to  lie  and  hear  what 
they  say.  I'll  leave  my  clothes  with  you  and  swim 
down,  and  climb  under  the  bang-rail  a  little  before 
I  get  there.  If  they  hear  me,  I'll  simply  dive  off 
and  swim  to  the  corner  of  the  park  where  the 
light  is.  Then  you  can  take  the  dory  and  my  clothes 
and  come  for  me.  But  in  the  meantime  you  can  go 
a  little  nearer,  there  at  the  end  of  that  pile  of  tim- 
bers, so  you  can  see  if  you  need  to  come  out  for  me 
— but  be  careful  they  don't  see  or  hear  you." 

He  climbed  down  into  the  boat  and  disrobed, 
neatly  packing  his  clothes  into  a  pile.  After  hand- 
ing them  to  me  he  let  himself  softly  into  the  wa- 
ter and  swam  up  the  pier. 

I  had  little  faith  that  Harry  would  profit  by  this, 
but  I  took  the  light  bundle  of  clothing  and  moved 
up  the  pier.  I  could  find  cover  no  nearer  than  forty 
feet  or  so.  Here  I  deposited  the  bundle  in  the  end 
of  the  pile  of  timbers,  and  waited. 

The  pair  conversed  a  long  time.  Of  course  I 
did  not  learn  the  tenor  of  their  conversation  until 
later,  but  for  the  reader's  convenience  I  shall  re- 
construct it  here,  as  Harry  afterwards  detailed  it. 
After  he  had  got  settled  and  begun  to  listen,  the 
first  speaker  he  heard  was  the  priest,  who  was 
speaking  Italian : 

— "and  I  have  always  thought  he  ought  to  be 
watched.  I  have  never  quite  known,  before,  that 


i  The    Accursed    Roccos 

he  was  Pan-Servian  in  his  leanings.  We  hate  the 
Catholics,  of  course ;  but  better  them  and  the  Aus- 
trians  than  that  successor  of  Alexander  who  is 
neither  Roman  nor  Orthodox  but  merely  the  money 
loving  tool  of  a  party  of  scheming  assassins.  Nor 
do  I  believe  that  Sbutega  really  smypathizes  with 
the  Court  at  Belgrade.  I  simply  believe  that  he  or 
some  correspondents  of  his  have  speculated  in  Ser- 
vian rentes  and  their  policy  is  to  protect  them ; 
otherwise  it  is  incomprehensible  how  Sbutega,  an 
Italian,  can  be  interested  in  any  Servian  union  or 
extension  of  Servian  influence  in  the  Balkans.  Cer- 
tain it  is,  that  he  is  not  laboring  for  the  Orthodox 
Church!  When  did  this  American  bring  the  en- 
velope ?" 

"I  am  not  quite  certain.  Last  week  when  he  and 
his  friend  returned  from  Montenegro.  I  can  find 
out." 

"Don't  trouble.  Is  this  Montenegrin  to  be  trust- 
ed?" 

"He  has  always  been  reliable  as  yet." 
"When  is  the  American  going  back  with  the  an- 
swer?" 

"He  is  to  go  when  he  pleases." 
"Ah !    That  may  be  tomorrow  morning." 
"No, — no  carriage  has  been  ordered,  and  I  know 
anyhow  that  he  is  not  going  tomorrow." 

"Paulino,  it  would  be  better,  a  great  deal  better, 
if  you  could  manage  to  get  rid  of  this  fellow  in 
some  other  way.  If  he  be  stopped  and  searched  at 
the  frontier  it  will  make  an  ugly  mess,  I  am  afraid. 
He  will  be  sure  to  invoke  the  help  of  his  Embassy 
at  Vienna.  That  is  never  a  joke,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  matter  I  am  afraid  our  private  plans  will 
leak  out.  They  are  both  sharp  looking  lads  and  I 
am  afraid  they  guess  too  much  already.  Once  we 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

start  such  a  thing  as  this  we  can't  stop  it  when  we 
please,  Paulino.  Can't  you  manage  some  other 
way?  Can't  you — say — provoke  him — and  run 
him  off?" 

"Father  won't  have  that  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  invent  an  excuse  to  quarrel  with  them,  anyhow. 
He  is  after  my  cousin,  but" 

"You  cannot  quarrel  with  him  for  wishing  to 
marry  her,  of  course;  but  wait  a  little.  When  he 
finds  he  cannot  marry  her  he  may  give  you  your 
excuse,  and  we  will  have  the  whole  affair  disposed 
of  together." 

"I  have  told  you  what  he  said  to  father  last 
night.  He  spoke  so  pointedly  that  there  is  no  doubt 
he  realized  what  he  was  saying.  He  will  want  the 
estate  with  her,  and  he  will  do  nothing  to  endanger 
it.  That  is  why  we  do  not  care  to  risk  him  any 
further, — the  more  so  as  he  has  some  influential 
friends  in  Vienna.  Count  Weyer-Reinbach  is  one. 
We  found  that  out  through  Advocate  Michaelo- 
vitch.  Weyer-Reinbach  is  Catholic,  of  course.  So 
getting  these  fellows  into  a  common  quarrel  would 
probably  expose  us  surely  enough,  and  in  the 
worst  quarter.  No,  he  can  only  be  disposed  of  by 
getting  him  into  something  that  will  compel  him  to 
leave  Austria  for  good  and  all." 

"Is  he  really  dangerous?" 

"How  do  you  mean  ?" 

"I  mean  is  he  likely  to  acquire  an  influence  over 
your  cousin?" 

"Not  a  doubt  of  it!" 

"Has  he  money?" 

"Enough  to  make  us  trouble,  I  fancy,  if  they 
figure  out  the  right  way." 

"They  will  imprison  him  if  he  be  denounced." 

"We  do  not  believe  they  will  convict  him.  They 
152 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

will  confine  him  for  some  months  and  finally  try 
him.  It  has  always  been  so.  Then  they  will  be- 
lieve his  story  that  he,  an  American,  did  not  know 
what  he  was  carrying  and  let  him  go ;  but  they  will 
probably  order  him  to  leave  the  country,  and  by  that 
time  he'll  be  glad  enough  to  go.  It  is  a  pity  those 
fellows  did  not  find  the  paper!  That  would  have 
made  it  sure." 

"Who  is  this  private  secretary  of  Sbutega?" 

"Simitch.  He  is  a  relative  of  ours,  but  Sbutega 
doesn't  know  that." 

"He  will  be  useful  to  us  in  another  way  later 
on." 

Then  they  were  silent  for  awhile.  The  priest 
resumed. 

"After  all,  I  see  no  objection  to  your  idea.  If 
you  play  your  parts  well,  the  American  will  not  con- 
nect his  arrest  and  detention  with  his  love  affair  or 
with  us,  so  there  is  no  teason  why  he  should  use  it 
in  his  defence  and  put  them  on  our  track.  And  the 
plan  will  effectively  dispose  of  him.  You  are  cer- 
tain he  is  not  going  tomorrow?" 

"Absolutely." 

"Very  well.  I'll  send  the  letter  to  the  Comman- 
dant first  thing  in  the  morning." 

"Make  it  sure  that  I  am  to  be  only  a  witness  as 
to  his  identity  and  must  be  taken  there  absolutely 
against  my  will." 

"Basta!     Am  I  a  young  fox,  then?" 

During  this  conversation,  I  was  standing  in  the 
shelter  of  the  pile  of  timbers  sincerely  hoping  that  a 
rat  would  not  bother  Harry  and  he  would  not  catch 
pneumonia.  Finally  the  priest  and  Paulo  rose  and 
sauntered  down  the  pier.  After  they  were  out  of 
sight  I  gathered  up  Harry's  clothes,  went  to  the 
153 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

dory  and  waited  for  him.  In  a  few  moments  he  ap- 
peared, passing  himself  along  the  timbers.  He 
climbed  into  the  dory,  mopped  himself  off  with  a 
handkerchief  as  well  as  he  could  and  silently 
dressed. 

"Are  you  chilled?" 

"Chilled!  With  my  color  of  hair?  You  are  jok- 
ing, Ed.  Go  to  the  cafe  and  wait  for  me.  I'll  go 
to  the  hotel,  wash  up,  and  be  with  you  as  soon  as 
I  can." 

In  due  time  he  appeared  at  my  table  and  seated 
himself  opposite  me.  We  bent  forward  over  the 
table. 

"Well,  did  you  hear  and  understand?" 

"Every  word — after  I  got  there." 

He  detailed  the  above  conversation.    I  said: 

"Well,  Harry,  you  had  figured  it  out  exactly 
right!" 

"Yes,  including  the  banker.  Now  you  must  get 
rid  of  those  papers  and  see  to  it  that  you  are  not 
roped  in  for  any  more  nonsense  of  the  sort." 

"I'll  tell  the  banker  the  whole  thing  tomorrow 
morning.  He  has  been  friendly  and  I  think  it  is 
due  him  to  tell  him  that  his  private  secretary  is  a 
traitor." 

"That  will  not  be  good  for  the  private  secretary 
but  as  you  think  best.  I  feel  no  sense  of  duty  with 
regard  to  protecting  him.  Only,  get  rid  of  the  pa- 
pers! If  you  choose  to  run  yourself  into  trouble 
after  all  this  warning  it  is  at  least  due  me  as  your 
friend  to  give  me  time  to  get  out  of  the  way.  If 
you  have  time  for  bars,  I  have  not,  I  assure  you." 


154 


CHAPTER  XII 

IN  thinking  the  matter  over  I  decided  to  go  to 
the  banker's  residence  early  enough  to  catch  him 
before  he  started  for  his  counting-house;  for  I  had 
been  unable  to  figure  out  how  his  private  secretary 
had  obtained  his  information  and  did  not  care  to 
risk  again  his  ingenuity  in  overhearing  us. 

"Signor  Sbutega,  I  sincerely  regret  having  dis- 
turbed you  so  early,  but  there  is  a  reason  why  I 
must  see  you  here  rather  than  in  your  private 
office." 

"Oh,  be  seated,  Doctor  Ransome.  No  apology 
is  necessary,  my  dear  Sir.  I  was  already  up." 

"Signor,  your  private  secretary  is  a  traitor  to 
you." 

His  face  remained  impassive,  except  to  look  at 
me  inquiringly. 

I  detailed  the  ransacking  of  our  rooms,  and  then 
the  conversation  which  Harry  had  overheard.  Dur- 
ing this  latter  recital  his  heavy  white  brows  drew 
together.  For  some  minutes  he  made  no  comment. 

"Have  you  a  little  time,  Doctor?" 

"Plenty,  Signor." 

"You  may  return  me  the  large  envelope.  The 
small  one  you  must  keep  and  use  should  you  ever 
need  it." 

"Thank  you,  Signor."  I  returned  the  large  en- 
velope with  alacrity  enough. 

"Signor,  I  still  wish  you  to  go  to  Cettinje,  but  this 
time  not  in  my  interest.  I  wish  you  to  go  carrying 
a  false  packet." 

"They  may  arrest  me  at  the  boundary." 

155 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

"They  doubtless  will — and  search  you.  But  when 
they  find  this  false  packet  they  will  let  you  pass 
with  apologies.  This  arrangement  is  in  your  in- 
terest. It  is  better,  now,  that  you  go,  and  carrying 
a  packet,  and  that  they  find  it.  They  will  thus  find 
themselves  on  a  false  scent.  In  that  way  they  will 
not  annoy  you  in  the  future — perhaps  after  you  get 
to  Vienna.  When  one  has  been  denounced  for  con- 
spiracy in  Austria,  the  agents  of  the  government 
will  keep  after  him  until  they  find  something.  It 
is  better  to  let  them  find  something  right  now,  and 
be  done  with  it." 

"Quite  right,  Signor."    I  can  see  reason  in  that." 

"Further,  my  dear  Signor,  my  apologies  and  my 
sense  of  obligation  to  you  will  now  never  see  their 
end.  All  would  have  been  simple  if  I  had  reckoned 
with  the  possibility  of  my  clerk  overhearing  us.  As 
it  is,  I  do  not  understand  how  he  managed  it,  but 
I  shall  devote  myself  to  solving  that  little  riddle  in 
the  course  of  the  next  day  or  two.  But  for  the 
present  you  may  arrange  to  go  with  the  false 
packet.  I  will  send  the  real  one  by  another  hand. 
It  will  not  be  so  safe  and  certain,  but  of  course  I 
shall  not  risk  your  welfare,  in  the  matter,  now." 

"Very  well,  Signor.  Only  you  need  not  carry 
any  eternal  sense  of  obligation  with  you.  We  must 
all  run  a  chance  risk  in  life,  now  and  then.  Pray 
do  not  feel  so  about  it." 

"Your  kind  words  only  make  the  matter  worse 
— but  we  need  not  waste  time  over  that  now.  I 
have  stolen  enough  of  your  time  and  good-nature, 
Herr  Doktor." 

I  liked  the  banker,  and  I  wanted  to  oblige  him. 
Also  he  might  be  a  powerful  friend  some  time  or 
other  in  the  future,  when  such  a  friend  might  come 
156 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

handy.  We  never  know  in  advance  How  that  may 
be.  Also,  I  hate  to  be  thwarted. 

"If  there  were  any  way  to  do  so  safely  I  would 
be  perfectly  willing  to  deliver  the  real  message, 
Signor." 

"I  don't  feel  like  troubling  you  further  with  it, 
Doctor.  Of  course  it  would  be  a  great  relief  to 
me,  but" 

"The  trouble  is  nothing,  Signor.  I  only  ask  to 
be  surely  safe  this  time." 

"That  can  be  arranged  with  certainty;  but" 

"Very  well,  Signor." 

"So  be  it,  then.  And  remember  you  can  call 
upon  me  in  the  future  whenever  you  need  me.  I 
will  arrange  in  this  way.  You  will  go  with  the  false 
packet  only.  After  they  find  that,  they  will  let  you 
pass.  You  shall  know  in  advance  what  it  contains. 
After  you  are  once  in  Montenegro,  you  run  no 
farther  risk  for  yourself — the  remaining  risk  is 
mine  alone.  The  Austrian  arm  does  not  reach  over 
the  Montenegrin  frontier.  From  that  point  on  it  is 
necessary  only  to  keep  the  matter  out  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  persons  who  have  no  business  with  it." 

"I  have  understood,  so  far." 

"Very  well.  Now  you  will  remember  that  after 
leaving  Njegusi,  another  heavy  serpentine  starts  up 
from  that  valley,  taking  its  start  just  after  round- 
ing a  small  farm  deep  below  the  road." 

"I  remember  the  place.  There  is  a  round  stone 
threshing-floor  just  at  the  turn  of  the  road  before 
starting  upward." 

"Exactly.  As  you  pass  this  farm,  a  laborer  there 
will  hail  you.  Halt  your  carriage  and  let  him  come 
up.  Buy  a  package  of  tobacco  from  him,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  barter  hand  him  the  false  envelope 
when  your  driver  is  not  looking.  When  you  get  to 
157 


The    A  c  c  ur  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

your  hotel  in  Cettinje  open  the  package  of  tobacco 
and  under  the  contents  you  will  find  the  real  packet. 
You  know  the  rest." 

"Agreed,  Signor." 

"The  laborer  will  be  a  Montenegrin  whom  you 
may  have  seen  in  Cattaro.  He  is  faithful  to  me,  but 
the  persons  at  the  other  end  will  not  accept  him  as 
a  go-between  because  years  ago  he  served  the  Aus- 
trian government  in  a  minor  capacity  and  in  conse- 
quence is  not  a  member  of  their  organization.  He 
will,  however,  not  dare  to  play  me  false,  as  I  have 
a  peculiar  hold  upon  him.  Now,  Doctor,  here  is 
the  morning  paper,  and  some  magazines.  I  am  go- 
ing to  the  bank  and  shall  return  inside  of  a  half 
hour." 

He  was  back  in  less  than  the  time  he  had  set. 
The  Signor  was  an  active  man  for  his  years. 

"Ah,  yes,  Doctor,  I  am  still  a  good  insurance 
risk.  Now  here  is  the  false  envelope.  It  is  just 
like  the  first  in  appearance.  Since  they  talked  of 
Servian  rentes,  I  have  placed  Servian  rentes  in  the 
packet."  (He  pulled  the  papers  out  of  the  en- 
velope and  showed  them  to  me.)  "There  are  one 
hundred  thousand  crowns  in  these  bonds.  It  is 
necessary  that  the  amount  be  fairly  large  in  order 
to  lend  truth  to  the  false  message." 

"I  hope  you  will  receive  them  back  safely." 

"That  is  my  risk,  Signor.  If  anything  happens 
to  them,  you  are  absolved." 

"And  if  they  ask  to  whom  I  am  taking-  the  false 
packet?" 

"Answer  that  you  are  delivering  the  bonds  to  a 
purchaser,  but  refuse  to  say  to  whom.  They  have 
no  authority  to  insist  upon  the  name  of  the  pur- 
chaser." 

"Good." 

158 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

"The  day  before  you  start,  call  in  person  at  the 
bank  and  ask  me  to  remit  to  Ragusa.  I'll  under- 
stand." 

"And  your  private  secretary,  Signer?" 

His  brows  met  again. 

"For  the  present  he  will  remain — my  private  sec- 
retary." 

I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  morning  on  the  wa- 
ter-front in  the  hope  that  Teresa  might  come,  but 
she  did  not  appear.  My  next  move  was  to  call  at 
the  house  that  afternoon.  I  threw  pride  to  the 
winds  and  wrote  a  very  penitent  letter  for  Gisela, 
taking-  care  to  tell  her  that  I  had  formally  asked  her 
uncle  for  her  the  night  of  the  ball.  I  begged  her 
to  try  and  see  me  in  some  way,  and  to  let  me  know 
through  Teresa  where  it  would  be,  but  cautioned 
her  to  select  a  time  and  place  which  would  give 
nobody  a  chance  to  make  her  trouble. 

As  far  as  I  was  supposed  to  know,  there  was  no 
reason  why  I  should  not  go  to  the  house,  so  about 
four  o'clock  I  took  a  barque  for  Stolivo. 

When  I  entered  the  gateway  I  saw  on  the  ver- 
anda a  little  party  in  which  I  soon  recognized  the 
Signer,  Lubitza  and  Paulo.  As  soon  as  they  saw 
me  the  two  men  rose  and  courteously  greeted  me. 

"Welcome,  my  boy !  We  have  been  thinking  you 
might  come  today.  But  where  is  Signer  Harry?" 

"Harry  is  answering  some  delayed  letters.  He 
sent  his  greetings  and  the  word  that  he  will  call 
before  we  leave." 

Paulo  shook  hands  cordially.  I  wanted  to  throw 
him  over  the  railing  of  the  veranda. 

"And  are  you  determined  to  go  so  soon,  then?" 
asked  Lubitza. 

"Well,  Signorina,  we  cannot  take  up  our  resi- 
159 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

dence  here,  pleasant  as  it  would  be,  and  Harry  is 
urging-  me  to  go  every  day." 

"Your  friend  is  an  icicle !  I  like  you  better.  You 
have  warm  blood  in  your  veins." 

"So  has  Harry — but  he  has  a  thick  shell.  Have 
you  quite  recovered  from  the  ball?" 

After  we  had  been  seated  a  few  moments  I  asked 
for  the  Signorina. 

"Oh,  she  is  sulking  in  her  room.  I'll  send  word 
to  her  that  you  are  here." 

She  gave  the  message  to  a  maid  who  was  occu- 
pied in  the  room  adjoining. 

"What  did  you  think  of  the  Ragusa  girls?" 
asked  Paulo. 

This  started  the  ball  topic  once  more  and  by  the 
time  that  was  well  on,  the  maid  returned  with  the 
message  that  Signorina  Gisela  had  a  violent  head- 
ache and  begged  to  be  excused.  She  sent  her 
greetings  and  hoped  I  would  come  again  soon. 

Our  conversation  continued,  but  I  fear  I  made 
poor  work  of  it.  Gisela  was  surely  very  angry  when 
she  would  not  see  me.  I  did  not  believe  in  the  head- 
ache. My  mind  was  largely  occupied  with  the 
question  of  how  I  could  get  my  letter  into  her 
hands.  I  did  not  dare  to  entrust  it  to  any  one  but 
Teresa,  and  she  was  not  visible.  Of  course  it  oc- 
curred to  me  to  walk  boldly  down  the  veranda, 
knock  on  her  door  and  give  it  to  her,  but  I  was 
afraid  her  uncle  would  demand  to  see  it  after  I  left. 

All  of  them  seemed  determined  to  talk  to  me  at 
once  and  my  head  swam.  Try  as  I  would,  I  could 
not  keep  my  eyes  and  thoughts  off  of  Paulo's  hand- 
some smiling  face.  If  I  had  not  learned  of  his  and 
the  priest's  interview  from  Harry's  own  lips  I 
would  have  doubted  its  occurrence.  He  had  laid  a 
plan  to  have  me  incarcerated  for  months,  as  he 
160 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

himself  believed,  and  he  was  now  begging  me  to 
remain  the  summer  with  them,  planning  deep  sea 
fishing,  excursions  into  Turkey  and  the  Hercego- 
vina,  and  even  a  trip  into  Greece — together.  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  if  the  opportunity  should  ever 
come,  there  would  be  a  reckoning  with  Paulo. 

I  remained  as  long  as  I  decently  could,  but  no 
chance  offered  for  delivering  my  letter,  so  I  finally 
left  messages  for  the  mother,  Gisela  and  the  Inge- 
nieur,  and  took  leave  of  them. 

Lubitza  walked  with  me  as  far  as  the  gateway, 
taking  my  arm  down  the  path.  I  could  not  refuse 
my  arm,  but  sincerely  hoped  my  sweetheart,  for 
once,  did  really  have  a  headache  and  was  not  look- 
ing on  through  her  window-blind.  Moreover,  Lu- 
bitza was  confidential  and  leaned  upon  me  almost 
affectionately. 

"Doctor,  must  you  really  go  so  soon?" 

"I  really  must,  Signorina.' 

"I  wish  you  could  stay  longer!"  and  she  pressed 
my  arm.  "We  could  have  a  good  time  together." 

"And  have  the  Ingenieur  call  me  out!  Thank 
you  for  nothing,  Signorina!" 

"Pshaw !  We  are  neither  of  us  in  love.  He 
would  never  trouble  you." 

"Why  are  you  going  to  marry  him,  then?" 

"Oh,  my  dear  Doctor!  Girls  in  Austria  do  not 
marry  for  love!  They  marry  for  liberty !  I  am 
going  to  try  my  voice  in  Vienna  and  if  I  can  be 
an  artist  I'll  have  my  liberty  without  having  to 
marry.  An  artist  lives  a  free  and  natural  life  in 
this  country.  And  Austrian  men  marry  for  the 
dot — never  for  love." 

We  had  reached  the  gate.     I  passed  out,  turned 
and  gave  her  my  hand.    She  held  it  and  looked  me 
in  the  eyes  with  her  brows  raised  inquiringly.     I 
161 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

returned  the  look  and  after  a  moment  slowly  shook 
my  head.  She  dropped  my  hand  and  reddened,  still 
looking  me  in  the  face.  Then  she  half-turned  to 
start  back,  still  keeping  upon  me  that  half-wonder- 
ing, half-embarrassed  look. 

"Ah,  Doctor,  Doctor,  you  are  one  of  those  men 
who  do  not  see  when  Luck  hovers  over  your 
head!" 

"We  often  walk  by  our  luck,  Signorina,  and  only 
see  later  on  when  our  minds  are  less  preoccupied." 

She  laughed. 

'Ah !  Later  on,  then !  In  Vienna !  Will  you  see 
better  then?" 

"Let  us  hope  that  I  shall  see,  at  least,  well, 
then." 

"Good!  It  is  an  arrangement.  A  riverderci, 
Doctor !" 

I  raised  my  hat  and  she  started  back  to  the  house. 

I  did  not  leave  for  Cattaro  at  once  but  walked 
in  the  direction  of  Perzagno,  still  revolving  in  my 
head  all  sorts  of  impossible  plans  to  get  my  letter 
into  Gisela's  hand.  It  would  not  have  been  very 
difficult  to  go  back  after  dark,  climb  the  end  of  the 
veranda  and  thrust  the  letter  under  her  door,  but 
fortunately  I  was  sane  enough  to  see  the  folly  of 
that  or  any  similar  move.  If  I  sent  a  bouquet  or 
a  basket  of  fruit  they  would  be  sure  to  look  over  it 
well  before  giving  it  to  her,  if,  indeed,  they  gave  it 
to  her  at  all. 

The  hope  that  Teresa  might  appear  caused  me 
to  turn  back  and  hang  about  the  neighborhood 
awhile;  but  no  one  appeared,  so  I  finally  stepped 
into  my  barque  and  started  for  Cattaro.  Perhaps 
Harry  could  suggest  a  way. 

That  evening  we  talked  the  matter  over,   but, 
alas,  for  once,  I  found  him  as  jejune  as  I  was. 
162 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

"I  have  allowed  my  bad  temper  to  cut  me  en- 
tirely off  from  her.  I  doubt  if  I  see  her  again." 

He  blew  a  vast  puff  of  smoke. 

"Keep  cool  and  play  close  to  your  belt.  You  may 
draw  a  royal  flush  yet,  Eddie." 


163 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THERE  seemed  nothing  left  but  to  keep  watch  at 
the  water  side  in  the  hope  of  a  chance  meeting 
with  Teresa,  and  I  spent,  on  Thursday,  the  long- 
est, dreariest  day  of  my  life  in  this  thankless  occu- 
pation. No  one  from  there  appeared — not  even 
the  Ingenieur. 

About  half  past  five  I  gave  it  up  and  going  to 
the  hotel  to  freshen  up,  found  that  my  letters  from 
Vienna  had  arrived  at  last.  One  of  these,  from 
Major  Scarlatti,  was  directed  to  no  less  a  person 
than  the  Commandant  of  the  garrison,  himself. 
This  letter  would  have  been  all  I  could  have  asked, 
but  it  came,  of  course,  too  late,  as  I  already  knew 
all  the  people  I  cared  to  and  more.  The  one  from 
Count  Weyer-Reinbach  was  to  a  local  dignitary  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  diocese  of  Cattaro.  Of  course 
the  letter  to  the  Commandant  might  be  useful  in 
case  I  got  into  trouble  in  the  Montenegro  enter- 
prise. I  now  felt  entirely  safe  on  that  score,  but 
decided  not  to  take  the  letter  to  him  just  yet.  The 
letter  to  the  Churchman  engaged  my  thought  for 
a  time  as  I  was  dressing.  Of  course  I  understood, 
now,  that  the  Greek  Church  priest  was  assisting 
the  Tomanovich  family  in  their  schemes,  and  that 
he  or  his  church  would  probably  share  the  proceeds 
in  case  of  success.  I  even  knew  from  the  inter- 
view which  Harry  had  overheard  that  they  feared 
exposure  in  Roman  Catholic  quarters.  But  it  was 
a  delicate  consideration  to  think  of  setting  the 
Catholic  party  also  into  the  hunt.  It  might  be  a 
case  of  from  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  In  any 
164 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

case,  such  a  move  must  have  Gisela's  acquiescence, 
and  moreover  be  well-considered.  I  could  not  guess 
how  far  Count  Weyer's  help  or  even  his  sympathy 
(or  rather  his  wife's,  for  she  was  the  Catholic — 
the  Count  himself  had  about  as  much  religion  as  a 
Viennese  cab-driver)  would  go  in  such  a  case  or 
just  what  direction  it  might  take.  In  fact,  I  could 
see  no  especial  use  for  his  letter.  I  would  present 
it,  of  course ;  courtesy  to  the  Count  demanded  that. 
Well,  the  delay  in  the  coming  of  the  letters  had 
made  no  difference,  at  least. 

That  evening  Harry  said: 

"Ed,  better  give  it  up  and  clear  out  of  here.  It 
is  better  so." 

"Not  while  I  have  a  taw  left  to  play  with, 
Harry !" 

"Very  well.  Then  let  me  suggest  at  least  this.  I 
think  they  intend  to  give  us  a  wide  berth  from 
now  on.  As  long  as  you  stay  here  you  will  not  get 
to  see  the  Signorina  unless  it  be  in  some  way  that 
will  play  into  their  hands.  You  see,  you  have  made 
it  easy  to  keep  you  apart  by  your  quarrel  with  her. 
If  they  know  about  it,  they  will  not  let  that  fact 
lose  anything — you  can  bet  on  that.  Now,  I  sug- 
gest this.  Make  your  trip  to  Montenegro,  and  then 
let  us  formally  depart,  bag  and  baggage.  We  will 
stop  off  at  Ragusa,  and  you  can  quietly  return  and 
probably  be  able  to  see  her  long  enough  to  set 
yourself  right  with  her.  After  she  believes  you 
have  left  she  will  probably  be  in  a  more  forgiving 
mood,  and  they  on  their  side  will  probably  have 
ceased  egging  the  quarrel  on." 

"The  minute  I  return  here  everybody  in  this 
little  town  will  know  it." 

"All  in  good  time.  The  family  may  not  happen 
to  hear  of  it  until  you  have  had  an  interview.  Any- 
165 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

way,  I  see  no  other  course.  Give  your  signal  to  the 
banker  tomorrow  morning.  Go  Saturday,  return 
Sunday,  and  we  will  leave  Monday  noon.  That  will 
give  enough  time,  besides,  to  catch  any  real  chance 
of  delivering  your  letter.  You  can  leave  it  with  me 
and  if  I  see  Teresa  while  you  are  gone  I'll  see  that 
she  gets  it." 

"Thanks,  old  man!"  And  I  gave  him  a  hand 
grip.  Then  I  told  him  of  my  letters. 

"Present  them  both  later — after  your  return.  You 
can  explain  that  they  came  the  evening  before  you 
went  away.  Presenting  them  now  might  interfere 
with  the  banker's  plans.  We  don't  know  what  his 
strings  are." 

Which  was  a  very  real  truth,  as  I  was  to  find. 

Early  the  following  morning  I  ordered  a  carriage 
for  the  next  day  with  a  change  of  horses  at  Njegusi 
and  then  visited  the  bank  and  carried  out  Signor 
Sbutega's  instruction. 

"I  will  remit,"  he  said,  and  graciously  bowed  me 
out. 

It  was  about  five  o'clock  that  afternoon  that  my 
good  fortune  returned  to  me.  I  was  in  my  room 
packing  a  portmanteau  when  there  was  a  knock 
on  my  door. 

"Herein!" 

The  door  opened  and  my  heart  leaped  for  joy, 
for  it  was  Teresa.  She  came  in  cautiously  and 
closed  the  door. 

"I  have  been  trying  for  over  an  hour  to  slip  up 
here  without  being  seen.  I  hoped  to  find  you  out- 
side somewhere.  I  did  not  know  you  were  here 
and  meant  to  wait  until  you  came." 

I  think  my  reception  of  the  old  woman  was  all 
she  could  have  wished — perhaps  more,  for  I  was 
166 


The    A  c  cur s  e  d    R o c c o  s 

so  glad  to  see  her  that  she  got  an  embrace.  She 
laughed. 

"Signer,  you  must  save  those  for" but  her 

laugh  died  out.  "Signer,  I  have  only  a  moment — 
I  must  not  be  caught  here.  I  bring  you  a  warning 
from  the  Signorina.  You  must  not  go  to  Montene- 
gro again!" 

A  warning!  My  soul  became  warm  with  the 
sweetness  of  it,  and  life  was  good, — aye,  very  good, 
once  more.  Teresa  hurriedly  continued. 

"You  are  to  be  arrested  at  the  frontier  and 
searched,  Signer!" 

I  scarcely  heard  her.  Of  course  Gisela  might 
still  be  angry  with  me — probably  was,  but  she  had 
taken  the  risk  of  a  vast  and  long-continued  unplea- 
santness with  the  family  if  this  warning  should 
come  to  their  ears. 

"Signer!  Have  you  understood  me?  You  are 
to  be  arrested  and  searched  at  the  frontier.  I  have 
no  time  to  stop  and  drill  it  into  your  head!" 

I  put  my  arm  around  her  shoulders. 

"I  know  it  already,  Teresa.  Nothing  serious  will 
happen  to  me.  I  have  nothing  that  could  interest 
them.  I  have  a  letter  for  you  to  take  back  to  your 
mistress." 

The  amazed  and  discomfitted  woman  waited  si- 
lently while  I  got  the  letter. 

"Teresa,  be  sure  that  none  of  the  family  find  out 
that  I  have  had  the  warning" 

"Hum.  I  am  old  in  their  service,  Signer.  I 
love  my  mistress.  I  have  no  wish  to  be  set  out  of 
the  house,"  she  answered  grimly. 

"Very  well.     Now,   Teresa,  take  this   letter  to 

your  mistress.     I  wrote  it  days  ago  and  hoped  to 

deliver  it  the  day  I  called,  and  have  been  watching 

faithfully  for  a  chance  ever  since.    Take  your  mis- 

167 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

tress  my  thanks  for  her  warning.  Tell  her  I  love 
her — better  than  my  life.  Tell  her  I  regret  more 
than  I  can  tell,  my  sorry  behavior  Monday  night. 
Tell  her  I  want  to  see  her.  I'll  be  back  from  Mon- 
tenegro Sunday  evening-.  I'll  be  in  Cattaro  Mon- 
day." 

"Oh,  are  you  still  going?" 

"Oh,  yes.  I  am  in  no  danger.  Assure  the  Signo- 
rina  of  that.  Try  and  get  her  to  see  me  Monday. 
My  friend  and  I  will  go  north  Tuesday  or  Wednes- 
day. I  want  to  apologize  in  person  for  my  be- 
havior the  night  of  the  ball." 

"Signer,  you  have  more  to  settle  with  my  mis- 
tress than  that !" 

I  was  certainly  surprised. 

"What  do  you  mean,  Teresa?" 

She  observed  me  narrowly — and  grimly. 

"I  must  leave  the  telling  to  her — if  she  will 
come.  I  must  hurry,  Signor." 

"Thank  you  for  coming,  Teresa.  Try  to  get  your 
mistress  to  see  me." 

"I'll  try,  Signor." 

She  slipped  out  of  the  door  and  cautiously  passed 
down  the  hallway.  I  went  to  a  window  and  saw  her 
go  safely  out  and  fly  down  the  street.  I  wished  I 
did  not  have  to  go  to  Cettinje  but  still  it  was  that 
fact  I  had  to  thank  for  the  reuniting  of  the  broken 
thread,  so  I  did  not  curse  the  journey. 

I  set  out  Wednesday  morning  at  an  early  hour, 
ready  for  the  necessary  occurrence  at  the  little  cus- 
tom-house far  up  on  the  serpentine  road. 

My  driver  informed  me  that  a  couple  of  car- 
riage loads  had  preceded  us,  having  started  at  day- 
break.   Of  course  this  information  was  no  surprise, 
and,  besides,  as  we  passed  Fort  Trinita  I  could  see 
168 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

them  slowly  creeping  up  the  serpentine  road  high 
above  us.  It  was  past  ten  when  we  ourselves  ar- 
rived there.  As  we  rounded  a  corner  to  ascend  the 
last  stretch  which  led  up  to  the  custom-house,  we 
saw  there  a  considerable  party  of  men,  strung 
about  the  road  between  the  douaine  and  the  primi- 
tive mountain-inn  which  stood  opposite.  As  we 
drove  up  we  saw  that  a  file  of  infantrymen  blocked 
the  way. 

"Wonder  what  is  the  matter!"  said  my  driver. 

We  drove  up  and  my  driver  turned  his  horses 
before  the  inn  and  stepped  down  from  his  seat.  A 
halt  for  rest  and  refreshment  is  nearly  always  made 
here,  in  any  case. 

We  were  received  in  silence.  I  got  out  and  began 
to  stretch  myself  a  bit.  An  officer  came  up  to  me, 
and  I  recognized  him  as  the  Commandant  himself, 
he  having  been  pointed  out  to  me  at  the  ball. 

He  saluted.     I  raised  my  hat. 

"Herr  Doktor  Ransome,  I  believe?" 

"Yes,  General  Richter.  I  saw  you  at  the  ball,  but 
was  not  fortunate  enough  to  meet  you  personally. 
I  received  a  letter  of  introduction  to  you  from 
Vienna  yesterday." 

"Yes,  I  know.  Major  Scarlatti  wrote  me  before- 
hand about  it.  I  shall  hope,  in  the  next  few  days 
to  be  the  means  of  your  meeting  any  people  here 
you  care  to  know — if  any  remain.  You  and  your 
friend  seem  to  have  managed  very  well  without  let- 
ters if  I  may  be  allowed  to  judge  by  what  I  saw 
Monday  evening."  He  smiled,  but  grew  grave 
again. 

"But  just  for  the  present,  I  am  sorry  to  have  to 

inconvenience  you  a  little,  Herr  Doktor.     Having 

the  Major's  letter,  I  have  come  in  person  to  manage 

this  affair,  in  order  to  see  that  you  suffer  no  un- 

169 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

necessary  discourtesy.  I  shall  not  detain  you  a 
moment  longer  than  is  necessary,  and  later,  if  you 
will  give  me  a  chance  to  do  so,  I  shall  do  my  best 
to  erase  the  necessary  discourtesy  which  you  will 
suffer  today.  I  regret  the  matter,  Herr  Doktor, 
believe  me,  but  duty  leaves  me  no  choice.  Will  you 
kindly  come  into  the  house  with  me?" 

I  followed  him  into  the  custom-house,  and  the 
file  of  soldiers  closed  up  behind.  After  traversing 
a  small  hallway  we  entered  a  medium  sized  room 
where  I  saw  a  desk  and  chairs  and  little  else  except 
a  stranger  in  plain  clothes.  The  Commandant  and 
a  leutnant  entered  with  me  and  the  door  was 
closed.  The  Commandant  seated  himself  at  the 
desk. 

"Bring  in  the  identifying  witness,"  he  ordered. 
The  leutnant  opened  another  door. 

"This  way,  Signer,"  he  said. 

In  came  Paulo.  He  looked  at  me  sadly  and 
raised  his  hands  in  despair.  He  did  it  well !  I  even 
thought  I  saw  tears  in  his  eyes.  It  was  the  first  time 
I  had  ever  seen  anything  resembling  emotion  on  his 
face. 

"Be  seated,  Herr  Tomanovich — is  this  Herr 
Doktor  Ransome?" 

"Yes,"  said  Paulo,  in  a  broken  voice.  I  gazed 
at  him  with  a  wrought-up  interest.  He  was  superb! 

"Thank  you,  Signer."  Then  the  Commandant 
turned  to  me. 

"Herr  Doktor  Ransome,  are  you  willing  to  give 
up  quietly  the  papers  you  are  carrying  with  you?" 

I  tried  to  look  surprised,  but  I  fear  Paulo  left 
me  on  the  back-stretch  so  far  as  acting  was  con- 
cerned. 

"Papers?  Certainly,  General!  I  have  only  an 
envelope  which  I  am  to  deliver  in  Cettinje.  I  do 
170 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

not  understand  that  the  matter  is  specially  confiden- 
tial, beyond  the  fact  that  I  was  requested  not  to 
mention  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom  I  am  to 
give  it."  And  I  handed  him  the  envelope. 

Once  more  I  saw  Paulo's  expression  change. 
He  actually  looked  a  little  surprised. 

"Please  do  me  the  honor  of  examining  them  at 
the  same  time  I  do,  Herr  Oberst." 

These  words  were  addressed  to  the  stranger.  He 
arose  and  seated  himself  at  the  desk  with  the  Com- 
mandant. They  broke  the  seal,  spread  the  bonds 
out  upon  the  table,  and  looked  them  over.  They 
did  not  seem  surprised — or  if  they  were  they  kept 
their  faces  well. 

"Are  these  all  the  papers  you  have?"  asked  the 
stranger. 

"Yes,  Herr  pberst." 

"Do  you  object  to  a  search?" 

"Not  in  the  least." 

"Kindly  lay  off  your  clothes  as  far  as  your  un- 
derwear, and  please  remove  your  shoes." 

I  disrobed  as  directed.  He  gave  the  clothes  a 
careful  going  over,  including  the  shoes.  Then  he 
examined  me.  In  this  matter  I  appreciated  the 
great  personal  consideration  extended  to  me  by  the 
Commandant,  in  having  this  personal  search  con- 
ducted by  a  Colonel  of  the  army  instead  of  by  a 
common  soldier.  The  whole  was  an  example  of  the 
princely  courtesy  which  is  usual  with  the  Austrian 
military  officer.  Of  course,  since  I  had  to  be 
searched  it  did  not  really  matter  much  to  me  who 
did  it;  but  I  understood  the  courteous  intention. 
And  the  Colonel  himself  had  doubtless  donned  civil- 
ian clothes  that  morning  because  he  felt  that  such 
a  proceeding  ill  became  his  uniform.  I  could  little 
complain  of  the  mode  in  which  they  performed  their 
171 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

duty.  During  the  whole  proceeding1  Paulo  was  the 
picture  of  commiseration.  Having  finished,  the 
Colonel  courteously  gave  me  permission  to  dress 
again,  and  went  to  the  door  whence  he  brought  in 
my  portmanteau.  At  his  request  I  unlocked  it, 
and  continued  dressing  while  he  turned  out  and 
carefully  examined  its  contents.  He  asked  me  if 
the  grip  had  any  secret  compartment  and  I  an- 
swered in  the  negative  for  this  was  not  the  one  in 
which  I  had  hidden  the  original  packet. 

"Shall  I  repack  your  portmanteau,  Herr  Doktor? 
I  suppose  you  know  better  where  everything  goes." 

I  gravely  repacked  it. 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door.  One  officer  and 
two  soldiers  entered.  The  officer  reported  that 
nothing  had  been  found  in  the  carriage. 

"Very  well — lock  the  door." 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence.  The  Comman- 
dant looked  at  the  Colonel  and  raised  his  eyebrows. 
The  latter  nodded  his  head. 

"Obey  your  orders!" 

The  two  soldiers  instantly  sprang  upon  Paulo  and 
pinioned  him.  For  the  third  and  last  time  I  saw 
his  face  wear  an  expression.  Paying  no  attention 
to  his  astonishment,  they  deftly  removed  his  coat. 
Having  done  so,  they  handed  the  coat  to  their  offi- 
cer, and  forced  Paulo  back  into  his  chair  and  held 
him  there. 

The  officer  examined  the  pockets  of  the  coat, 
and  then  the  lining.  From  a  place  in  the  back 
which  had  been  ripped  and  re-sewed,  he  drew  an 
envelope  very  like  mine  but  of  very  thin  light  pa- 
per. Amazement  held  me  spellbound. 

The  Commandant  ripped  open  this  one  also. 
This  time  there  seemed  to  be  no  lack  of  interest  in 
their  work.  He  and  the  Colonel  seemed  to  point 
172 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

out  various  passages  significantly  to  each  other. 
Finally  the  Commandant  said: 

"It  is  enough — quite  more  than  enough!" 

Amazement  had  never  left  Paulo's  face.  If  his 
astonishment  were  of  the  same  genuine  stamp  as 
his  commiseration  of  me  had  been,  I  could  still  far- 
ther compliment  him.  Still,  there  seemed  a  differ- 
ence— his  amazement  seemed  a  little  more  real — but 
only  a  little  more.  He  baffled  me  completely. 

A  sergeant  was  called  in  and  produced  hand-cuffs 
which  he  placed  upon  Paulo's  wrists.  Then  without 
once  having  found  his  voice,  he  was  led  out.  The 
Commandant  again  turned  to  me: 

"Herr  Doktor,  in  this  entire  affair  we  have  acted 
in  accordance  with  previous  information.  Of 
course  we  knew  we  would  find  nothing  compromis- 
ing on  you,  but  it  was  necessary  that  we  have  proof 
of  the  fact.  Our  search  of  you  was  much  more  for 
vour  own  sake  than  for  any  other  reason.  Now  you 
will  be  disturbed  no  more.  Later  you  may  be  called 
as  a  witness  in  regard  to  what  you  have  seen  here 
today,  but  I  do  not  believe  so.  In  any  case,  that 
will  be  the  extent  of  any  future  inconvenience  so  far 
as  you  are  concerned.  Here  are  your  papers.  Al- 
though duty  left  the  Herr  Oberst  and  myself  no 
choice,  still  we  offer  you  our  fullest  apologies,  Herr 
Doktor." 

I  acknowledged  his  amende  honorable  with  the 
best  grace  which  my  amazement  would  permit. 

"Will  Pa — ,  Herr  Tomanovich,  have  serious 
trouble,  General?" 

"I  have  little  doubt  of  it.  We  have  found  a  paper 
of  grave  significance,  and  artfully  concealed,  the 
nature  of  which  I  may  not  explain  to  you.  Yes, 
he  will  find  himself  in  a  net.  His  being  still  young 
may  help  him — I  cannot  say  for  certain." 

173 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  am  sorry." 

"Don't  waste  sympathy  on  him,  Herr  Doktor," 
he  answered  significantly.  "Besides,  our  young 
men  must  learn  to  do  their  patriotic  duty  to  their 
government  and  let  political  intriguing  alone!" 

He  accompanied  me  to  my  carriage  which  had 
already  been  put  in  readiness. 

"When  did  Herr  Paulo  come  up?" 

"We  brought  him  with  us.  He  supposed  he  was 
to  identify  you." 

We  were  soon  ascending  the  rest  of  the  serpen- 
tine which  lay  between  the  douaine  and  the  pass.  I 
was  trying  to  think  the  matter  out.  Paulo  had 
shown  himself  an  actor  of  the  first  order,  but  the 
more  I  thought  of  it  the  more  was  I  convinced  that 
his  bewilderment  was  real.  Had  the  banker  man- 
aged this?  It  would  have  been  easy  enough  for 
some  agent  of  his  to  have  done  it,  say  some  time 
when  Paulo  had  been  bathing  in  the  gulf.  Not- 
withstanding the  Commandant's  words,  which 
of  course  I  had  perfectly  understood,  I  could  not 
help  but  feel  for  Paulo  a  little,  though  not  without 
the  further  feeling  that  simple  justice  had  come  to 
him.  He  had  received  exactly  what  he  had  planned 
for  me. 

Truly  the  banker's  arm  was  long,  and  he  had 
known  how  to  strike  back  soundly  upon  the  meddler 
in  his  affairs. 

And  how  would  this  affect  my  affair?  I  could 
depend  upon  it  that  the  young  man's  father  would 
hold  me,  however  innocent,  responsible  with  the 
rest,  and  would  not  see  me  again,  even  if  he  rested 
with  that.  And  how  would  Gisela  feel  about  it?  I 
would  not  be  troubled  by  Lubitza  again,  I  fancied ! 

I  received  the  package  of  tobacco  as  previously 
arranged  and  finished  my  journey  in  time  to  walk 

174 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  6  s 

by  the  Prince's  palace  between  four  and  five  o'clock. 
That  night  I  placed  the  envelope  in  the  fence  post, 
and  returned  to  Cattaro  the  following  day  without 
incident,  arriving  at  the  hotel  in  time  for  dinner.  In 
the  meantime,  I  had  decided  to  see  the  banker  and 
intercede  for  Paulo.  I  believed  he  could  undo  what 
he  had  done,  if  he  would. 


175 


CHAPTER  XIV 

"WELL,  we  shall  soon  know  which  way  the  cat 
will  jump.  You  may  expect  something!  They  will 
not  let  this  pass  without  a  return,  Ed.  You  may 
depend  upon  that." 

"But  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it!" 

"They  will  not  believe  that.  What  I  look  for  is 
that  the  Ingenieur  will  call  you  out. 

This  conversation  occurred  Sunday  evening  after 
I  had  related  the  previous  events  to  Harry. 

"What  will  you  do  if  it  happen?" 

"If  the  Ingenieur  call  me  out?" 

"Yes." 

"I  hardly  know,  Harry." 

"Better  be  thinking  it  over !  Are  you  in  practice 
with  any  arm?" 

"Only  the  two  fast  to  me." 

"Yes,  I  know  your  practice  with  those,  but  they 
won't  serve  you  in  this  instance." 

We  finished  dinner  and  left  the  hotel  to  take  a 
turn  on  the  Marina.  He  took  up  the  subject  again. 

"You  won't  go  north?" 

"Not  yet,"  I  answered  doggedly.  "Besides,  they 
would  be  sure  to  think  I  were  running  away — if 
you  be  right.  The  Ingenieur  could  find  me  in 
Vienna  as  easily  as  here." 

"Very  well,  we'll  stay  it  out.  But  take  a  stitch 
in  time.  Present  your  letter  to  the  Commandant 
and  mention  the  fact  that  you  may  need  a  friend. 
He  will  probably  take  the  hint  and  take  care  of  the 
matter.  Of  course  you  are  not  a  coward,  Ed,  but 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

a  duelling  scrape  would  exactly  play  into  their 
hands." 

For  once,  however,  Harry's  cleverness  proved  to 
be  at  fault.  I  received  no  visit  nor  communication 
from  either  the  Signor  or  his  future  son-in-law.  On 
Monday  I  called  to  see  the  banker,  but  they  in- 
formed me  he  had  gone  north  and  would  return 
Saturday.  That  afternoon  I  asked  Harry  to  watch 
the  Marina  for  Teresa  and  called  upon  the  Com- 
mandant with  my  letter  and  gave  him  the  hint 
Harry  had  suggested. 

"They  will  not  dare !"  he  assured  me.  "They  will 
have  enough  to  do  the  next  few  months  or  a  year 
without  looking  for  more  trouble !" 

He  furthermore  answered  that  he  saw  nothing  he 
could  do  for  Paulo — the  matter  was  out  of  his  hands 
now,  he  said. 

Later  in  the  afternoon  I  called  at  the  house  of  the 
Bishop  and  was  informed  that  he  was  at  his  sum- 
mer residence.  I  left  Count  Weyer's  letter  and  de- 
parted. 

That  day  and  the  next  passed  without  news  from 
any  quarter.  I  urged  Harry  to  make  his  trip  into 
the  Krivocije,  and  after  another  day  of  waiting,  he 
consented,  leaving  Wednesday  morning.  He  would 
be  back  Friday  or  Saturday. 

And  so  the  long  weary  week  rolled  by,  I  had 
left  only  the  hope  that  Gisela  might  come  to  church 
Sunday.  I  almost  prayed  that  it  would  not  rain. 

And  it  did  not.  The  day  broke  fine  and  I  began 
to  watch  th'e  Stolivd  locality  as  early  as  eight 
o'clock.  After  two  hours  of  waiting  and  many  dis- 
appointments I  spied  a  barque  upon  which  I  rivetted 
my  glasses.  After  a  time  I  made  out  two  women 
sitting  in  the  after  part,  and  later  to  my  joy  and 
relief  recognized  the  Signorina  and  Teresa.  I  went 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

to  the   Marine  gate,  passed  under  the  arch,  and 
awaited  them  there. 

The  women  were  conversing  gravely  as  they 
came  through  the  arch.  Teresa  saw  me  first  and 
dropped  behind.  Gisela  gave  me  a  little  smile  and 
walked  on.  As  Teresa  passed  she  said : 

"In  the  Cathedral  at  two  o'clock,  Signer." 
****** 

I  entered  the  church  a  little  before  two.  A  little 
past  the  hour  they  came  in. 

"I'll  watch  at  the  entrance,  Gisa  mia."  And 
Teresa  took  her  stand  there. 

I  took  Gisela's  hands  in  mine,  but  she  would  not 
look  at  me. 

"Have  you  read  my  letter?" 

"Yes,  Herr  Doktor." 

"Do  you  forgive  me,  dear?" 

She  stood  first  on  one  little  foot  and  then  upon 
the  other.  She  drew  her  right  hand  away  and 
swung  it  like  a  child  would  do.  Her  eyes  took  a 
flying  glimpse  at  mine,  the  little  mouth  half  smiled. 
She  stood  a  little  nearer  me,  then  farther  away — 
then  a  little  nearer.  She  half  turned  away,  but  she 
made  a  mistake  and  turned  in  the  wrong  direction, 
for  she  turned  her  right  shoulder  toward  me,  and  as 
I  was  still  holding  her  left  hand,  that — why — of 
course — it  made  my  left  arm  go  around  her  shoul- 
der, and — well,  there  is  no  need  to  worry  the  reader 
with  these  details.  Besides,  such  a  moment  can 
only  be  understood  by  people  who  do  not  need  an 
explanation.  Again,  I  do  not  remember  all  that 
happened  the  next  two  or  three  minutes. 

"So  then,  you  love  me,  after  all,  Gisela?" 

"I  think  so,  Eduard — it  must  be  that  I  love  you 
— as  nearly  as  I  understand  it,  I  do." 

"Will  you  marry  me?" 
178 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"If — when  I  can,  Eduard." 

Then  she  broke  away  and  looked  at  me  severely. 

"But,  Signer,  I  do  have  a  quarrel  with  you !  No 
— go  away.  It  is  not  to  be  settled  with  a  kiss !  Did 
I  not  tell  you  I  would  stand  no  coquetting  with  my 
cousin?  You  have  had  to  wait  a  whole  week  on 
account  of  that!" 

"Why! — you  little  savage!  When  have  I 
coquetted,  pray  tell  me!" 

"When  you  called!  And  before — the  night  of 
the  ball !  As  you  very  well  know !" 

The  underlip  was  once  more  out.  She  seemed 
to  mean  it. 

"Dear  heart,  I  have  not  coquetted  with  anybody. 
Why  do  you  accuse  me  of  such  things?" 

"You  flirted  with  Lubitza  the  night  of  the  ball! 
She  has  boasted  of  it.  She  says  you  were  in  the 
garden  with  her — and  that  you  made  love  to  her — 
and  tried  to  kiss  her!" 

"That  is  utterly  false!  Every  word  of  it!  I  did 
not  even  see  her  outside  of  the  ball-room!" 

"And  when  you — came — over  to  call — and  went 
away — you  and  she — walked  arm  in  arm — to  the 
gate — and  talked  there — and  you — and  you  held — 
her  hand  at  the  gate! — just  like  a  pair — of  lovers! 
You  thought  I  was — sick  and  wouldn't  see — you." 

"Oh,  Gisela!" 

"And  she — says  you  are  going — to  be  friends— 
in  Vienna  when — she  goes  there.  You — planned  it 
— at  the  gate.  Oh,  Eduard !" 

Her  handkerchief  went  to  her  eyes  and  she 
sobbed  heart-breakingly.  I  put  my  arm  around  her 
shoulder,  pulled  the  handkerchief  away  and  turned 
her  chin  upward.  She  was  shaking  with — laughter. 
The  silver  peal  itself  now  rang  out  again  and  again. 
179 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Then  she  ceased  to  laugh,  pulled  away  from  me  and 
put  on  a  serious  expression. 

"But,  Eduard,  she  did  say  these  things — really! 
I  believed  them  at  first.  I  thought  you  might  have 
done  it  after  you  left  me  sitting  in  the  park.  (Arerit 
you  ashamed  of  yourself?  Good!  That  is  some- 
thing at  least!)  But  when  she  said  you  tried — to 
kiss — her,  I  no  longer  believed  her." 

"Of  course  not,  dear!" 

"Because — she — would  have  let  you  do  it,  if  you 
had  tried — I  know  my  cousin !" 

Again  she  laughed  at  my  discomfiture.  Then  she 
ceased  her  raillery  altogether,  and  took  my  hands  in 
hers. 

"No,  dear  Eduard,  it  is  all  nonsense!  I  did  not 
come  this  week  because  it  was  not  possible.  The 
family  has  neither  gone  out  nor  received  anyone, 
and  I  had  to  stay  in  with  the  rest.  Of  course  your 
letter  made  everything  right,  dear  Eduard.  Quite 
everything." 

Here  came  another  moment  that  will  not  interest 
the  reader. 

"Let  us  not  risk  this  any  more,  Eduard." 

"Teresa  is  watching,  dear." 

"Yes,  I  know,  but  still  it  is  better  not — here — 
Eduard." 

"Do  you  love  me?" 

"I  think  so,  Eduard." 

"You  are  going  to  marry  me?" 

"Yes,  when  I  can,  Eduard — if  you  will  still  have 
me  then." 

"You  remind  me  that  we  shall  have  to  wait.  I 
shall  wait,  dearest.  Never  doubt  that!  If  one  of 
us  fail  to  wait  for  the  other,  it  will  not  be  I, 
dearest." 

"I  shall  wait  for  you,  Eduard." 
1 80 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Dearest,  I  have  been  worried  to  death  for  fear 
that  this  thing  which  has  happened  to  Paulo  would 
forever  keep  us  apart.  What  does  your  uncle  say 
about  it?" 

"Oh,  Eduard,  that  is  a  dreadful  thing!  My  aunt 
has  not  left  her  room  since  we  heard  of  it,  and  my 
uncle  just  walks  the  floor.  They  say  he  will  be  shut 
up  for  months  and  months,  and  that  he  may  never 
be  free  again.  Today  my  uncle,  aunt  and  Lubitza 
have  not  come  from  their  rooms.  That  is  why  I 
could  come  over.  There  was  no  one  about  to  re- 
fuse permission  to  come  to  church." 

"Where  is  the  Ingenieur?" 

"Eduard,  I  do  really  believe  he  is  a  coward,  after 
all.  Uncle  says  he  has  gone  to  Trebinje.  I  think 
he  has  run  away." 

"Afraid  he'll  get  mixed  up  with  Paulo?" 

"I  suppose  so.  Eduard,  do  you  know  how  it 
happened  ?" 

"I  saw  the  arrest,  of  course,  and  saw  them  find 
the  paper.  I  know  nothing  more — only  that  he  had 
denounced  me,  and  thought  he  was  being  taken  up 
there  to  be  a  witness  against  me." 

She  closed  her  little  jaw  tight. 

"I  hope  they  will  shut  him  up  for  a  long  time! 
But  we  are  all  puzzled.  Uncle  says  he  knows  noth- 
ing of  political  plotting,  and  that  the  family  has  al- 
ways been  for  the  Austrians.  Have  you  really  no 
idea  how  he  came  by  the  papers?" 

"No  more  than  you  have,  Gisela.  My  word  of 
honor !" 

"Uncle  swears  that  you  put  them  in  his  coat." 

"I!  Gisela,  as  soon  as  your  uncle  can  think  a 
little  better,  he  will  realize  that  I  have  never  had 
an  opportunity  to  do  such  a  thing.  Besides,  I,  too, 
181 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

know  nothing  of  your  politics  here,  and  have  no 
interest  in  them." 

"Well,  Eduard,  I  must  believe  you,  but  I  would 
not  have  blamed  you  if  you  had.  I  think  it  would 
have  been  splendid.  It  is  just  right!  I  am  not  a 
bit  sorry  for  him.  I  could  feel  sorry  for  uncle  if 
I  were  sure  he  had  not  been  part  of  the  plot 
against  you,  but  I  believe  he  was." 

"I  think  so,  too,  dear." 

"And  yet  I  am  sure  uncle  liked  you,"  she  half 
mused. 

"Maybe.  But  he  likes  some  other  things  and  peo- 
ple better." 

"Oh,  yes.  He  worships  Lubitza  and  is  under  her 
thumb.  Then  comes  Paulo — then  my  aunt.  A  long 
way  afterward  come  I — and  then  other  people." 

"How  did  you  know  I  was  to  be  denounced?" 

"Teresa  heard  Paulo  and  Lubitza  talking  of  it. 
Teresa  finds  out  most  things  for  me.  If  it  had 
not  been  for  Teresa,  I  would  have  been  dough  in 
their  hands." 

I  resolved  I  would  never  forget  Teresa  whatever 
should  betide. 

"When  we  go  back  we  are  going  to  say  we  took 
luncheon  at  Signer  Sbutega's  house.  Signorina 
Sbutega  and  I  are  good  friends." 

"Idiot  that  I  was!  I  might  have  got  my  letter 
to  you  sooner  if  I  had  known  that !" 

"No,  Signer — it  was  best  as  it  was.  It  is  true 
Amalia  and  I  are  good  friends,  but  never  trust  a 
letter  to  any  other  hand  than  Teresa's.  Letters  are 
always  read,  in  Austria,  Signor — when  you  would 
think  they  wouldn't  be.  You  can  trust  your  mail  to 
the  postman  only,  in  this  country,  Eduard." 

Time  was  flying  and  I  saw  Gisela  was  beginning 
to  grow  restive. 

182 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  must  soon  go  away.  .Where  shall  I  send  let- 
ters to  you  ?" 

"Only  to  Teresa  and  not  to  our  address." 

"I'll  send  them  to  her  in  care  of  the  bank." 

"That  will  do  until  uncle  finds  it  out,  at  least. 
Give  me  your  address." 

I  wrote  it  down  and  gave  it  to  her.  She  thrust 
it  into  her  reticule. 

"And  you  will  wait  for  me,  Gisela?" 

"I  shall  wait,  Eduard — but  remember,  no  more 
flirting  with  my  cousin.  You  may  flirt  with  any- 
body else  under  the  sun,  but  not  with  her !" 

I  did  my  best  to  chide  the  notion  out  of  her 
mind,  striving  to  show  her,  in  a  way  that  every 
lover  has,  that  there  was  room  for  only  her  in  my 
mind  and  heart. 

The  time  began  to  fly  by  again,  unnoticed.  We 
forgot  the  chances  of  interruption,  as  well  as  every- 
thing else  in  the  world.  There  always  comes  a  mo- 
ment when  lovers  blunder — perhaps  because  they 
are  true  to  their  purpose  and  do  not  divide  their 
minds  between  their  love  and  side-issues.  Teresa 
had  already  twice  warned  us  that  the  interview  was 
too  long,  but  we  did  not  know  when  we  would  see 
one  another  again  and  had  begged  for  just  a  few 
minutes  more. 

We  were,  in  fact,  just  about  to  part  when  we 
were  startled  by  an  amazed  exclamation  from 
Teresa.  She  was  running  toward  us  as  we  looked 
up.  I  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  pick  up  Gisela's 
reticule  which  she  had  droped  in  her  fright  and 
we  ran  to  a  corner  at  the  side  of  the  nave. 

"The  Signer! — and  the  Ingenieur!  They  are 
coming  this  way — up  the  street.  We  can't  get  out 
without  being  seen !"  Teresa  explained  excitedly. 

I  knew  already  that  there  was  no  free  exit  except 
183 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  front  portal.  A  side  door  there  was,  but  I  had 
tried  it  when  I  came  and  had  found  it  locked.  There 
was  little  time  for  debate.  I  thought  hard  and  fast. 
The  possibilities  did  not  require  much  conning.  I 
realized  that  we  must  not  be  caught  here,  for  the 
sake  of  Teresa  herself  and  her  future  usefulness  to 
us,  even  if  there  had  not  been  stronger  reasons. 
Gisela  had  sunk  down  on  the  pavement  in  a  ghast- 
ly fright. 

"Speak  quickly,  Signer!  What  shall  we  do?" 
urged  Teresa. 

"Teresa,  calm  yourself,  and  leave  the  church. 
Meet  them  and  stop  them — detain  them  all  you  can. 
Your  mistress  dined  at  Sbutega's  and  has  already 
gone  home.  You  were  in  the  church  to  find  Gi- 
sela's  reticule  again.  Here  take  it!  Go!" 

She  collected  her  senses  in  a  most  creditable  way 
and  made  a  prompt  exit.  I  seized  Gisela  by  the 
waist  and  arm,  and  raised  her  up. 

"There  is  not  a  moment  to  lose!    Hurry!" 

'Where  are  you  going,  Eduard?" 

"Hurry,  child!     Hurry!" 

We  arrived  at  the  right  hand  side  door  in  the 
altar  screen,  to  the  rear  apartment  of  the  cathedral, 
and  here  she  pulled  back  with  all  her  strength. 

"Come,  Gisela !    Do  you  want  them  to  find  us  ?" 

I  again  took  her  about  the  waist.  She  fought 
with  all  her  power. 

"Eduard!    What  would  you  do!    I  cannot" 

"Come!    We  must  hide  here!    Come!  Come!!" 

She  tried  to  pull  away  fighting  me  almost  madly. 
I  was  nonplussed  at  her  behavior,  but  there  was  no 
time  for  questions  and  arguing.  I  stooped,  picked 
her  up  in  my  arms  and  stumbled  and  ran  into  the 
inner  apartment  in  the  apse  of  the  church,  behind 
the  altar  and  ikons. 

184 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

She  was  now  limp  in  my  arms.  I  lowered  her  to 
her  feet  and  supported  her  while  I  cast  a  hasty  look 
about  the  place.  A  door  to  one  side  stood  a  little 
open,  and  a  key  stood  in  the  lock.  I  hurried  her 
there  and  pulled  the  door  further  open.  It  seemed 
to  be  a  large  closet  for  vestments.  I  pushed  Gisela 
inside  of  this,  reversed  the  key  to  the  inside,  and 
then  stepped  to  the  side  door  of  the  screen  where  I 
could  look  into  the  outer  church  and  watch  the 
front  entrance. 

We  had  barely  been  in  time.  Signer  Tomanovich 
and  the  Ingenieur  in  violent  altercation  with  Teresa 
came  tog-ether  into  the  church.  The  two  former 
came  walking  up  each  side  of  the  nave,  systemati- 
cally searching  the  church.  I  stole  to  the  closet, 
went  within  and  locked  the  door. 

There  was  a  considerable  space  between  the  bot- 
tom of  the  door  and  the  sill,  and  I  lay  down  on  the 
floor  and  put  my  ear  there.  For  some  moments  I 
heard  nothing — then  I  saw  their  feet  as  they  came 
toward  and  into  the  apse  of  the  church. 

"They  won't  be  here,"  I  heard  the  Signer  say. 

"It  won't  hurt  to  look,"  replied  the  Ingenieur. 

I  heard  them  move  about.  One  of  them  tried 
the  closet  door. 

'Folly!    Of  course  they  are  not  here!' 

I  heard  them  move  about  again  not  far  off.  Then 
they  stopped  between  the  closet  door  and  the  Holy 
Table  and  consulted.  Their  feet  faced  each  other. 

"They  have  been  too  sharp  for  us.    Teresa !" 

I  heard  her  answer  from  without. 

"Don't  you  dare  leave  the  church!" 

They  conversed  in  low  tones  near  the  door,  but 
I  could  only  catch  fragments. 

"I  don't  think  it  would  have  done  any  good,  any- 
how—  The  American  understands — in  his  own  in- 
185 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

terest  will  do  nothing  we  can—.  If  they  meet  in 
the  church — so  better  to  let  them  alone  until — take 
to  meeting  somewhere  else." 

"I  have  had  my  talk  with ,  will  be  enough  if 

we  can  show  that  they  are  meeting  secretly.  He  is 

willing,  on  that  much,  to  sanction .  I  did  not 

have  time  to  explain  this  to  you  before  because  I" — 

"Well,  we  have  failed  this  time,  at  any  rate.  I 
suppose —  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  and  post- 
ed Teresa  in  —  signal  them.  We  have  been  too 
hasty,  and  have  managed  badly." 

"Perhaps  she  has  not  been  able  to ." 

"Basta.  The  thing  is  off  for  this  time.  No  use  to 
try  again  very — more  rope.  We — better  informed 
before ." 


'Lubitza  is 


They  were  moving  away.  I  saw  their  feet  pause 
a  moment  at  the  communicating  door  on  our  side. 
Then  they  went  out  and  I  could  follow  them  a  very 
little  way  into  the  congregation  room.  After  a  time 
all  was  silent.  I  noticed  now  for  the  first  time  that 
Gisela  was  sobbing.  I  whispered. 

"Dearest,  they  have  gone  and  all  is  well.  In  a 
few  moments  we  can  go." 

I  unlocked  the  door  and  cautiously  looked  into 
the  outer  church.  The  place  was  empty  again.  Fi- 
nally I  ran  to  the  main  entrance  and  saw  all  three 
going  down  the  street.  I  watched  them  out  of 
sight  and  returned  to  the  closet. 

"Come,  dearest,  the  coast  is  clear." 

She  came  out,  hanging  her  head  dejectedly.  I 
closed  the  closet  door.  She  raised  her  head,  looked 
fearfully  about,  and  then  ran  headlong  out  into  the 
church,  stumbling  and  falling  against  a  column.  In 
an  instant  I  was  by  her  side. 
186 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Dearest,  what  is  the  matter?  We  have  escaped 
them  1" 

I  raised  her  up  onto  her  feet. 

"Do  you  not  understand,  Gisela?  They  are  gone. 
You  are  safe!  You  have  only  left  to  be  careful 
about  going  home." 

She  did  not  weep  violently,  but  sobbingly  and 
persistently.  Nor  did  she  seem  hysterical.  Puzzled 
to  a  stand-still  I  could  only  drop  my  hands  and  gaze 
at  her  in  growing  uneasiness.  It  was  only  after 
quite  a  few  minutes  that  she  became  a  little  more 
composed,  and  seemed  able  to  talk  to  me. 

"What  is  the  matter,  dearest?    We  are  safe." 

"Oh,  Signer — Signor !  You  don't  know  what  we 
have  done!" 

"Done!  Whatever  do  you  mean,  dear?" 

"Oh,  Eduard!  Of  course  you  didn't  know,  but 
I  have  broken  one  of  the  most  sacred  rules  of  the 
Church !" 

I  could  only  look  my  astonishment. 

"You  didn't  know,  Eduard,  but  that  won't  help 
me.  That  inner  room  is  the  Sanctuary.  A  woman 
is  forbidden  to  enter  there." 

"What !    A  woman  may  not  go  in  there  ?" 

"It  is  so,  Eduard." 

I  was  speechless  a  moment  and  then  I  was  torn 
between  the  desire  to  laugh  and  honest  sympathy 
for  her  in  her  real  distress.  I  called  to  mind  the 
bare  room  with  its  dreary  white  unadorned  walls, 
the  room  bare  of  everything,  even  of  furniture  save 
the  Holy  Table  which  stood  behind  the  central  door 
of  the  screen.  Forsooth  should  she  have  endan- 
gered her  inheritance  because  she  had  entered 
there?  It  was  only  by  the  greatest  self-mastery 
that  I  restrained  a  shout. 

But  after  a  moment  I  recalled  the  wording  of  her 
187 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

great-grandmother's  will  as  transmitted  to  me  by  the 
banker;  remembered  that  who  had  any  interest  in 
doing  so  would  construe  this  as  literally  as  neces- 
sary ;  called  to  mind  that  the  present  trustee  of  her 
estate  was  seeking  an  excuse — not  a  reason;  re- 
called the  fragmentary  conversation  which  I  had 
but  now  overheard,  and  the  words  of  the  Ingenieur 
that  somebody  "would  sanction"  something  or  an- 
other merely  on  the  ground  of  our  having  "met  se- 
cretly,"— and  with  these  reminders  all  desire  to 
laugh  died  out.  I  thought  I  could  guess  what  this 
person  would  "sanction,"  and  this  excuse  would 
surely  have  answered  his  purposes  better  than  a 
mere  secret  meeting  with  the  servant  standing  by, 
and  in  such  a  public  and  supposedly  righteous  place. 
For  among  Roman  Catholics  in  Europe  it  would 
have  been  no  offence  to  make  pure  love  in  a  church. 
A  priest  of  my  acquaintance  had  once  said  to  me 
"better  there  than  somewhere  else."  I  fancied  it 
would  be  the  same  in  a  Greek  church.  But  a  profa- 
nation of  the  sanctuary — and  hiding  together  in  a 
closet  therein — however  unwittingly  and  innocently 
— that  excuse,  they  could  doubtless  use. 

"But,  darling,  no  one  has  seen  it.  No  one  will 
ever  know." 

"Oh,  Eduard,  when  such  a  thing  has  been  done, 
the  priest  will  always  know!"  and  she  began  to 
quiver  again. 

Here  was  pure  superstition,  but  here  was  neither 
time  nor  place  to  combat  it. 

"Gisela,  neither  the  priest  nor  anybody  else  will 
ever  find  it  out  this  time,  and  if  they  do  they  will 
know  that  I  carried  you  in — bodily,  and  against 
your  will,  for  I  remember  you  fought  against  it  all 
you  could.  I  did  not  know  why.  Take  courage, 
darling!" 

1 88 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Oh,  Eduard!"  she  moaned  drearily,  "the  priest 
will  know!  The  priest  will  know!"  And  she 
waved  to  and  fro. 

I  could  only  look  at  her  in  despair.  After  a  few 
moments  a  change  came  over  her.  Her  face  grew 
rosy,  her  lips  redder,  and  her  eyes  hard  and  bright. 
She  turned  upon  me  in  a  fury,  speaking  partly 
amid  clenched  teeth,  partly  amid  the  forcible  taking 
of  breath. 

"Wretch!  Brute!  Mule! — Now  I  am  lost! 
Now  that  vixen — that  witch — that  men's  plaything 
— will  have  my  patrimony!  And  it  is  your  fault! 
You — you — Oh !  (and  stamped  her  foot  in  a  very 
paroxysm  of  rage).  "Oh,  I  wish  I  had  never  seen 
your  face !  Why,  oh,  why — was  I  such  a  fool — fool 
— fool !  Go !  Go  back  where  you  came  from, 
whatever  nest  it  was !  Go — and  flirt  and  play  with 
other  women — make  fools,  dolts,  idiots  of  more  girls 
— and  never  forget  that  there  is  one  down  here  in 
Cattaro  who  wishes  you  had  never  been  born!" 

She  clutched  her  dress  and  started  for  the  en- 
trance. I  couldn't  have  stopped  a  ewe  lamb,  not 
to  mention  a  strong,  healthy,  enraged  young  woman. 
There  were  no  words  for  my  helpless  astonishment. 
A  little  of  rage  there  was,  too,  but  I  could  not  have 
given  it  voice  if  I  had  wished  to.  Out  of  sheer 
inability  to  move  I  would  have  allowed  her  to  go, 
if  she  had  not  stopped  and  turned  her  eyes  upon 
me  one  moment  as  she  was  about  to  reach  the  en- 
trance. That  gave  just  the  necessary  time  to  get  my 
breath  again.  I  made  a  half  dozen  bounds  and 
reached  her.  She  held  out  her  arms  as  if  to  ward 
me  off — in  fright,  I  supposed.  I  siezed  her  arm. 

"Gisela!  Listen!  I  won't  argue  with  you!  I'll 
go  away  and  never  return.  You  shall  have  your 
wish — you  shall  never  see  me  again.  But  listen! 
189 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Never  speak  of  this  afternoon  and  nothing  will  ever 
be  known !  The  priest  can't  know  about  it !  See 
that  you  yourself  never  let  it  be  known,  and  all 
will  be  well." 

I  dropped  her  arm  and  retreated  a  step.  She  was 
still  angry,  and  looked  at  me  one  moment,  half 
opened  her  lips  as  if  to  speak  and  closed  them 
again.  Then  she  turned  and  flung  over  her  shoul- 
der: 

"Go  then!  The  farther  the  better!" — and  flew 
out  of  the  door  and  down  the  street,  utterly  obliv- 
ious of  collisions  with  the  people  she  passed. 

I  watched  her  out  of  sight  and  then  strove  to 
collect  myself  a  bit.  It  was  rough,  but  I  could 
balance  against  it  my  treatment  of  her  the  night 
of  the  ball,  for  which  I  had  had  far  less  cause,  and 
I  was  a  man — grown;  she,  a  young  (and  supersti- 
tious) woman.  I  was  able  to  forgive  the  two  last 
speeches,  the  more  as  I  believed  she  would  regret 
them  keenly  when  she  came  to  herself.  I  believed 
I  had  only  to  wait  patiently  a  few  hours  in  order 
to  hear  from  her  again. 

Well,  she  was  safe  now,  at  all  events.  We  had 
escaped  for  this  time  and  I  made  an  iron  resolve 
not  to  see  her  again  except  in  company.  We  could 
do  our  love-making  by  letter  after  this — if  indeed, 
it  was  destined  to  be  done  at  all. 

What  wolves  a  property  dispute  can  make  of  a 
family!  Here  was  a  girl  made,  not  for  balls  and 
flirting  and  to  be  a  mere  clothes-horse  in  life,  but 
one  endowed  with  all  the  sweetness  Nature  ever 
gives ;  one  meant  for  a  happy,  quiet  life  with  some 
man  who  understood  her ;  one  meant  to  be  the  boon 
of  chubby-faced  children,  and  later  the  goddess  of 
her  sons  and  daughters.  Now  this  sweetness  was 
190 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

turned  into  gall  and  hatred — for  I  had  at  least  been 
able,  I  thought,  even  now  in  her  excited  words,  to 
read  no  especial  love  of  money  or  avariciousness  in 
general,  but  only  that  fixed  hatred  of  her  cousin 
which  showed  its  ugly  head  whenever  her  name 
was  mentioned.  During  our  conversation  the  night 
of  the  ball  she  had  said  that  her  hatred  of  Lubitza 
was  "older"  than  her  love  for  me.  Yes,  her  hate 
for  her  cousin  was  an  old  rooted  tree  with  a  long- 
firm  grip  upon  the  soil,  while  her  love  for  me  was 
but  a  tender  plant  of  yesterday.  Any  conflict  be- 
tween these  was  bound  to  end  to  my  discomfiture, 
for  a  long  time  to  come,  of  course. 

I  was  leaning  against  a  column  near  the  cathedral 
entrance  occupied  with  these  thoughts  when  a  deep 
taunting  voice  behind  me  broke  the  thread  and 
made  me  fairly  leap  into  the  air  in  surprise  and 
fright. 

"Well !  You  seem  to  have  played  and  lost,  Doc- 
tor Ran  some !" 

I  waited  just  five  seconds,  and  when  I  turned  I 
think  I  was  fairly  composed. 

Confronting  me,  with  a  sneering,  lowering  fa"ce, 
was  the  massive,  towering  figure  of  Padre  Petrus, 
the  priest. 


IQI 


CHAPTER  XV 

THAT  a  battle  was  on,  was  evident  at  the 
first  glance,  and  I  braced  myself  for  it.  His  words 
indicated  that  he  had  heard  a  part  of  our  interview. 
I  determined  that  what  he  might  have  overheard 
would  be  the  extent  of  what  he  should  learn. 

He  was  an  enormous  man,  not  corpulent,  but 
massive  and  powerful,  and  stood  a  good  head  and 
neck  above  me.  This  fact,  together  with  his  high 
cylindrical  clerical  hat  with  its  overhang  at  the 
top,  and  his  flowing  hair,  made  him  a  truly  impres- 
sive object.  It  was  small  wonder  that  he  had  much 
influence  among  the  mostly  simple  and  more  or 
less  wholly  superstitious  people  of  his  flock.  He 
had  not,  before,  impressed  me  as  having  a  bad 
face,  but  it  seemed  villainous  now.  I  may  have 
been  prejudiced.  Certain  it  was  that  if  his  face 
had  any  possibilities  in  the  way  of  kindness,  he  was 
concealing  the  fact  well,  just  now. 

"However,  Signor,  as  you  had  no  stakes  up,  I 
suppose  you  will  not  find  it  hard  to  be  a  philo- 
sophical gambler." 

I  made  no  reply  but  merely  waited  for  what 
further  he  had  to  say. 

"I  have  always  supposed  that  Americans  were  a 
clever  people.  I  did  not  ever  expect  to  meet  with 
one  of  them  who  would  prove  otherwise.  On 
thinking  the  matter  over,  and  taking  into  account  the 
circumstances  under  which  you  have  been  and  are, 
do  you  yourself  not  wonder  how  you  could  have 
assumed  that  an  Oriental-Orthodox  church  would 
192 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

be  left  unattended  so  long  as  you  have  chosen  to 
remain  this  afternoon  ?" 

I  did  not  answer.  If  he  would  tell  me  what  he 
had  seen  and  heard  I  would  let  him. 

"Moreover,  you  are  meddlesome.  You  are  like 
an  old  gossiping  woman  who  must  stir  with  her 
finger  a  neighborhood  trouble  in  which  she  has  no 
interest.  Otherwise  you  would  not  have  been 
fetching  and  carrying  like  a  trained  dog  for  that 
old  spider  who  sits  yonder  in  a  counting-house." 

"And?    Riverenci?" 

"Do  not  use  that  form  of  address  to  me !"  he  said 
very  sternly.  "That  is  for  Roman  Catholic  here- 
tics." 

"Very  well — sir." 

He  eyed  me  a  moment,  then  he  said: 

"Come  with  me,  Signer.  I  wish  to  show  you 
something." 

I  followed  him,  determined  to  let  him  do  the  talk- 
ing until  I  had  something  to  say.  He  led  me  through 
the  church  back  into  the  apse  again.  He  pointed 
to  the  door  of  the  closet. 

"You  were  there." 

He  then  pointed  to  the  door  opposite. 

"I  was  there."  Then  he  folded  his  arms  and 
looked  sneeringly  down  at  me  from  his  towering 
height. 

I  suppose  he  would  have  succeeded  in  throwing 
me  into  a  panic  if  I  had  not  so  felt  the  necessity  of 
keeping  my  head.  I  wondered  if  he  had  actu- 
ally seen  us  or  only  drawn  an  inference  from  the 
last  part  of  the  interview  between  Gisela  and  me, 
which  I  now  understood  he  had  overheard.  How- 
ever, his  next  words  set  all  doubts  at  rest. 

"You  seem  to  have  some  personal  strength  for  a 
193 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

little  man.  Not  everybody  can  pick  up  a  full  grown 
woman  and  carry  her  about  against  her  will." 

I  am  a  man  of  quite  average  size  or  even  a  little 
more,  but  I  was  little  alongside  of  him,  so  I  had 
no  inclination  to  resent  the  gibe. 

He  had  seen  the  whole  affair!  Why,  then,  had 
he  not  come  put  and  denounced  us  to  the  Signer 
and  the  Ingenieur?  Surely,  there  was  a  reason  for 
his  not  having  done  so.  And  why  was  he  having 
speech  with  me  now?  That  he  had  some  ax  to 
grind,  was  obvious.  I  determined  to  let  him  tell 
me  what  it  was. 

"Well,  Doctor,  do  you  understand  that  I  was  a 
witness  to  the  whole  affair?" 

"Certainly."     And  I  looked  at  him  inquiringly. 

"Doctor,  I  think  you  understand  Signorina  Gise- 
la's  situation.  Your  behavior  here  tells  us  that.  Do 
you  also  realize  what  the  events  of  this  afternoon 
mean  to  her  ?  Especially  under  the  circumstances  ?" 

"Not  precisely.  Of  course,  I  can  make  various 
suppositions." 

"And  the  first  one  you  have  in  mind  will  be  the 
correct  one !" 

I  made  no  answer  to  this. 

"Doctor,  you  seem  disposed  to  let  me  do  the 
talking — or  is  it  merely  that  your  guilty  mind  has 
nothing  to  answer?" 

"I  do  not  yet  understand  why  we  should  have 
any  conversation  at  all,  sir.  You  have  seen  what 
occurred, — what  more  is  there?  I  infer  from  what 
you  hint  that  you  mean  to  use  this  knowledge 
against  the  Signorina  in  her  affairs.  Well,  a  talk 
with  me  will  not  alter  that  intention,  I  fancy.  Why 
waste  time  over  me,  then?" 

His  face  abandoned  the  sneer  and  took  on  more 
of  the  habitual  priestly  air  which  it  wore  when 
194 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

flocks  of  children  on  the  street  would  kiss  his  hand, 
or  when,  in  the  service,  his  parishioners  would  do 
so,  as  he  gave  the  Holy  Bread. 

"Because  I  have  a  proposition  to  make  to  you.    I 
think  you  have  guessed  as  much,  have  you  not?" 
"What?    And  I  so  unclever?" 
"It  did  not  require  any  cleverness." 
"Well,  I  got  far  enough,  at  least,  to  wonder  why 
you  did  not  appear  and  tell  them  where  we  were." 
"Just  so.     I  did  not  interfere  because  I  saw  a 
way  of  using  the  occurrence  to  better  advantage, 
and  I  think  you  will  make  no  difficulty  about  it 
when  you  understand  it.    Now,  Signer,  you  realize, 
do  you  not,  that  I  can  have  Signorina  Gisela  de- 
prived of  her  estate  if  I  make  this  occurrence  pub- 
lic?" 

I  did  not  quite  believe  it,  for  it  had  occurred  to 
me  that  the  Austrian  courts  might  not  be  willing  to 
construe  the  will  so  literally.  Still  under  such  a  lit- 
eral construction  the  terms  of  the  will  had  been 
broken,  and  I  did  not  feel  sure  of  my  ground.  Of 
one  thing  I  was  sure,  however,  and  that  was  they 
could  make  her  any  amount  of  trouble  and  bitter- 
ness on  the  strength  of  it — and  possibly  put  her  un- 
der restraint — especially  considering  the  closet  epi- 
sode ;  there  was  no  telling  how  they  might  twist  and 
turn  that.  In  any  case  it  could  do  no  harm  to  let 
him  think  he  had  things  in  his  own  hands. 

"And  will  you  use  your  power  in  this  way?" 
"That  rests  with  you,  Herr  Doktor." 
"Then  it  will  not  be  done.  Pray  explain  further." 
"Have  Paulo  Tomanovich  released  and  set  free 
without  prejudice,  and  I  will  keep  forever  silent 
about  this  afternoon." 

Have  Paulo  set  free  and  acquitted!    How  was  I 
to  do  that?    What  the  Commandant  had  protested 
195 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

he  could  not  do?  I  was  compelled  to  smile  at  the 
absurdity  of  it. 

"And  pray,  how  am  I,  an  unimportant  foreign 
stranger,  to  accomplish  that?" 

"The  main  thing  is  that  you  be  willing.  I  hap- 
pen to  see  the  possibility — the  ready  possibility — 
clearly  enough." 

"I  assure  you  I  would  be  perfectly  willing  if  I 
saw  any  way.  I  would  have  been  willing  in  any 
case,  even  if  we  had  no  bargain." 

"Yes — perhaps.  But  I  believe  our  bargain  will 
make  you  a  little  more  earnest — will  make  you  a 
little  readier  to  take  certain  steps  which  may  not 
be  exactly  agreeable  to  you." 

"Very  well,  sir.     What  are  the  steps?" 

"You  can  accomplish  the  task  through  Sbutega. 
Do  you  realize  that  you  have  him  in  your  power, 
Herr  Doktor?  Do  you  know  that  with  the  knowl- 
edge you  have,  he  is  bound  to  obey  any  reasonable 
request  from  you?  Or  even  an  unreasonable  one? 
Sbutega  can  release  Paulo.  And  you  can  command 
him  in  the  matter." 

This  view  had  never  entered  my  head,  and  caused 
me  to  think — hard.  For  me  to  "command"  the 
banker,  was,  of  course,  not  to  be  thought  of.  But 
I  could  prefer  a  "request"  and  I  did  not  doubt  but 
that  he  would  heed  it, — even  a  more  unreasonable 
one  than  this.  He  had  acknowledged  his  obliga- 
tion to  me,  and  had  arranged  to  come  to  my  assis- 
tance at  any  time  and  place  in  Austria,  in  the  fu- 
ture. That  assistance  could  be  asked  now,  as  well 
as  later.  Other  possibilities  than  that  which  the 
priest  had  in  mind  dimly  suggested  themselves. 

"I  do  not  believe  that  the  little  I  know  would 
force  his  hand,  sir,'*  I  said,  with  conviction. 

"I  know  that  it  would.  I  do  not  know  just  what 
196 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  messages  contained  but  I  have  an  inkling  and 
know  that  he  would  not  have  it  known  at  any  price 
just  now,  that  any  messages  at  all  have  been  ex- 
changed. Rely  upon  it!" 

"Why  not  force  him  yourself?" 

"I  cannot  afford,  in  my  position,  to  take  any  part 
in  it.  Moreover,  I  have  no  proofs.  You  have.  You 
carried  at  least  one  of  the  messages — I  believe 
you  carried  the  reply.  You  know  how  they  were 
received  and  delivered.  We  can  furinsh  you  one 
supporting  witness,  and  perhaps,  two,  that  you 
were  requested  to  carry  them,  and  that  arrange- 
ments therefore  were  made.  Besides,  he  owes  you 
a  return  for  that  service — 'for  I  feel  sure  that  you 
did  not  perform  it  for  a  money  consideration.  He 
would  probably  set  Paulo  free  at  your  request,  as 
a  return  service.  The  detention  of  Paulo  is  of  no 
value  to  him.  Paulo  knows  nothing  of  his  Pan- 
Servian  plots.  You  can  make  the  proposition  to 
him  in  that  form  if  you  like,  and  reserve  compul- 
sion for  a  last  resort." 

"And  if  it  fail?" 

"It  will  not  fail,  Doctor!  Believe  me,  I  know 
what  I  am  saying." 

There  was  little  doubt  that  Signer  Sbutega  would 
release  Paulo  as  a  return  service,  if  I  asked  it.  I, 
also,  believed  the  detention  and  conviction  of  Paulo 
could  be  of  no  real  service  to  him.  As  for  re- 
venge, Signer  Sbutega  could  doubtless  be  brought 
to  see  that  Paulo  had  undoubtedly  had  lesson 
enough  by  now.  But  more  than  all  else,  I  realized 
that  this  was  the  only  way  that  a  release  of  Paulo 
could  be  effected  for  a  long  time  to  come,  at  best. 
Finally,  it  was  easy  to  see  why  the  priest  so  ardently 
desired  his  release  that  he  had  foregone  the  splen- 
did opportunity  which  had  presented  itself  within 
197 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  past  hour;  for  Signer  Tomanovich  doubtless 
held  him  responsible  for  having  managed  badly. 
The  priest  did  not  wish  to  quarrel  with  the  Signer, 
and  have  the  latter,  perhaps,  seek  another  partner 
in  a  different  quarter.  Yes,  I  saw  the  situation, 
and  with  the  seeing,  it  came  to  me  that  Signer  Sbu- 
tega  was  not  the  only  one  who  was  in  "my  power" 
today. 

I  straightened  up  and  turned  on  the  priest.  He 
no  longer  looked  so  towering  to  me. 

"Father  Petrus,  you  have  instructed  me  well — 
better  than  you  intended,  I  think." 

His  face  grew  black  as  a  thundercloud. 

"Ah!  You  think  you  see  another  use  for  your 
hold  upon  the  banker,  than  the  release  of  Paulo?" 

"Yes,"  firmly. 

"Take  care,  young  man!  I  have  meant  well  by 
you  so  far  to-day,  but  you  may  find  that  the  bank- 
er's is  not  the  only  powerful  arm  in  this  diocese !" 

But  he  no  longer  frightened  me.  I  thought  I 
saw  my  way  to  the  checkmate. 

"Before  to-day  you  have  not  meant  well  by  me, 
and  I  do  not  look  upon  your  sudden  conversion  as 
final.  When  you  and  Tomanovich  have  succeeded 
In  stealing  the  Signorina's  estate  from  her,  how 
large  a  share  is  to  go  to  your  church?" 

I  saw  him  make  the  necessary  effort  to  control 
his  temper.  He  succeeded  beautifully,  but  his  face 
was  now  the  color  of  dough,  and  remained  so. 

"And  if  it  were  to  be  one-third,  what  then,  Sig- 
ner? Will  you  bid  under  us  and  take  one- fourth 
if  the  Signor  drop  us  and  come  to  you?  Or  do  you 
mean  to  make  the  release  of  Paulo  alone  the  terms 
upon  which  you  are  to  set  the  Church  aside  ?  Don't 
forget  your  foresight  in  thi  game.  Did  you  know 
that  the  Signorina  was  once  a  Roman  Catholic 
198 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

communicant?  That  church  would  be  glad  to  get 
a  hold  upon  the  Signorina  again.  She  is  a  com- 
municant here  largely  by  reason  of  superior  force, 
and  we  do  not  trust  her  faith.  So  in  order  to  dis- 
pose of  you  we  have  only  to  instruct  her  uncle  to 
allow  her  to  go  to  that  Communion  again,  and  we 
ourselves  step  out  in  their  favor.  And  they  have 
the  ear  of  the  Austrian  government,  Doctor  Ran- 
some!  In  that  case  you  will  never  see  a  kreutzer 
of  her  estate!" 

He  was  playing  well,  for  if  I  had  been  after  the 
estate,  he  would  have  had  me  where  I  should  have 
been  compelled  to  compromise.  But  as  it  was, 
my  way  still  looked  clear.  Also  the  reference  to 
Gisela's  former  Roman  Catholicism  largely  ex- 
plained why  Father  Petrus  was  willing  to  assist  in 
depriving  her  of  her  patrimony — for  the  mutual 
hatred  is  extreme. 

"Father  Petrus,  you  have  castled  without  reason, 
and  my  knight  is  still  safe  from  the  bishop.  I  care 
nothing  about  the  Signorina's  estate  for  myself.  I 
have  enough  of  my  own.  She  could  come  to  me 
without  a  heller  and  be  as  welcome  as  if  she  would 
have  ten  times  her  present  estate.  Look  to  your 
own  foresight  in  this  game!" 

He  regarded  me  with  open  skepticism.  He 
smiled  a  little,  then  said: 

"It  is  your  move,  Doctor." 

"Very  well.  Now  the  situation  is  thus :  You  are 
intriguing  with  that  family  against  the  welfare  of 
the  Signorina,  in  order  to  cause  her  to  lose  the 
estate,  and  have  it  go  to  the  family.  When  that 
happy  result  is  attained,  you  or  your  church  or  your 
monastery  is  to  receive  one-third." 

"I  have  not  said  so,"  he  interrupted. 

"In  the  course  of  this  intrigue  you  have  made  a 
199 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

serious  mistake.  What  you  intended  for  my  poor 
self,  has  descended  upon  the  son  in  that  family. 
That  you  may  not  have  originated  that  especial 
plot,  will  not  help  you,  for  you  have  managed  mad- 
ly and  uncleverly.  You  have  lost  the  Signer's  con- 
fidence and  your  influence  over  him.  This  you 
would  and  must  correct.  And  bringing  about  the 
release  of  Paulo  would  even  put  his  father  under 
obligations  to  you. 

Finally,  that  mistake  can,  as  you  surmise,  be  un- 
done through  me.  Also,  Father  Petrus,  I  can  for- 
ever prevent  its  undoing !  Do  you  understand  that  ? 
Therefore  I  have,  not  Signer  Sbutega,  but  you  un- 
der my  thumb  today,  for  I  care  not  a  rap  about  the 
estate,  and  am,  therefore,  not  concerned  with  your 
threat  of  the  Roman  Church !" 

"Why,  then,  Doctor,  do  you  not  ask  for  her  with- 
out her  estate  ?  That  would  be  far  simpler." 

"I  have  already  done  so.  With  your  other  eaves- 
dropping this  afternoon  I  am  quite  sure  you  heard 
her  last  few  words  to  me.  She  cannot  be  com- 
pelled either  to  marry  me,  or  to  let  her  estate  go  to 
her  cousin." 

"Yes.  Of  course — quite  true.  I  had  forgotten 
that  for  the  moment.  Well,  Doctor,  what  do  you 
intend  to  do?" 

"You  shall  know,  as  shall  the  Signorina  and  rest 
of  the  family.  I  shall  have  Paulo  released" 

"Ah !" 

"In  three  years  from  now !" 

If  he  had  been  the  color  of  dough  before,  he  was 
chalky  now — only,  his  eyes  burned  luridly.  He  half 
clenched  his  fists  and  took  a  step  toward  me,  and  I 
looked  about  for  a  weapon.  But  once  more  he  con- 
trolled himself  though  it  cost  him  a  far  greater 
200 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

struggle  than  before.  I  could  not  help  but  respect 
his  self-government,  and  envied  him  the  quality. 

Finally  he  was  able  to  say: 

"In  other  words  you  mean  to  hold  him  as  a  hos- 
tage." 

"Exactly!" 

"For  insuring  what  ?" 

"That  question  is  an  insult  to  your  own  intelli- 
gence, Father  Petrus." 

"No,  Doctor,  for  there  are  at  least  two  possi- 
bilities. You  may  be  intending  to  protect  the  Sig- 
norina  Gisela  by  this  manoeuvre;  but  you  may  also 
be  intending  to  exact  a  heavy  dot  at  the  time  of 
your  marriage." 

"I  have  sufficiently  answered  questions  touching 
my  self-interest.  I  shall  hold  Paulo  as  hostage  for 
the  following  items: 

The  Signorina  is  safely  to  attain  legal  age  and 
receive  her  estate  in  full. 

She  is  to  be  permitted  to  marry  at  her  will,  and 
in  that  case  is  to  receive  her  full  estate  at  her 
majority.  If  either  of  these  things  are  safely  per- 
formed, Paulo  will  be  set  free; — otherwise  not. 

Besides  this,  if  I  ever  learn  of  any  further  at- 
tempt at  intriguing  against  her,  or  of  any  coercion 
of  her  that  is  not  for  her  good  on  the  part  of  any 
of  you  or  any  one  connected  with  you,  then  I  shall 
make  you  worse  terms  than  this.  And  if  anything 
happen  to  the  Signorina — as,  for  example,  a  death 
that  cannot  be  explained,  then  I  swear  to  you,  Paulo 
shall  never  be  free,  if  I  can  prevent  it !" 

"Then  you  do  not  propose  to  fetter  the  Signo- 
rina's  own  will?" 

"I  shall  not  try  to  protect  her  against  herself, 
but  be  assured,  if  she  do  anything  that  is  not  for 
her  good,  I  shall  take  care  to  be  convinced  that  she 
20 1 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

did  act  by  her  own  free  will,  before  Paulo  shall  be 
set  free !  And  now,  this  concludes  our  interview, 
does  it  not?" 

He  seemed  to  regard  me  with  a  certain  respect 
and  great  perplexity.  He  actually  accompanied  me 
to  the  cathedral  entrance. 

"I  hardly  know  what  to  think  of  you,  Doctor.  It 
is  in  your  hands  to  demand  a  share  in  this  estate, 
but  you  seem  to  throw  that  consideration  utterly 
away.  Am  I  to  take  your  determination  literally?" 

"Literally,  Father  Petrus !" 

"We  might  find  a  way  to  act  together,  Doctor." 

"Once  more  and  finally,  I  seek  for  myself,  only 
the  Signorina's  hand  in  marriage.  That,  only  she 
herself  can  give  me.  Beyond  that,  the  only  thing 
I  shall  exact  for  myself  is  free  access  to  her  at 
reasonable  times  and  places,  provided  she  be  willing 
to  see  me.  You  have  nothing  to  do  with  this.  Now 
for  the  last  time,  I  warn  you  that  it  is  best  for 
Paulo  that  the  events  of  this  afternoon  be  kept  a 
secret." 

Then  I  left  him  to  have  an  immediate  interview 
with  the  banker,  Sunday  though  it  was.  He  received 
me  in  his  drawing  room. 

"It  will  take  a  mint  of  money  to  carry  this  thing 
out  as  you  wish,  Doctor!  It  would  be  simple 
enough  to  set  free,  or  on  the  other  hand  to  convict 
and  hold  him  for  good.  But  to  hold  him  three  years 
and  then  guarantee  his  release,  means  buying  a 
pardon  for  a  state  criminal.  It  can  be  done — but 
it  will  be  costly!" 

"What  will  it  cost?" 

"As  much  at  least  as  the  Church  would  have 
got!" 

"I'll  bear  the  half  of  it,  Signer.  I  would  offer 
202 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

to  bear  all  if  I  could.  If  the  time  ever  come  when 
I  can,  I  shall  repay  you  the  balance." 

He  looked  at  me  affectionately.  Then  he  rose 
and  clapped  his  strong  old  hand  on  my  shoulder. 

"I'll  pay  the  bill,  my  boy !  It  might  be  too  much 
for  you,  and  I  shall  not  notice  it.  It  shall  be  done 
exactly  as  you  wish.  Hereafter,  the  fate  of  the 
young  man  is  in  your  hands.  It  has  done  me  a 
world  of  good  to  hear  how  you  got  the  best  of  that 
old  rascal  Petrus !  That  has  not  happened  often — 
not  even  with  me,"  and  he  laughed  loud  and 
long.  "It  was  worth  the  money!" 

At  the  door  he  said : 

"I  love  a  man,  especially  a  young  man,  who  does 
not  love  money!  That  may  seem  a  strange 
speech,  coming  from  me,  but  the  truth  is,  I  do  not 
love  money.  I  only  love  the  pursuit  of  it — the 
strenuous  conflict  for  it — as  the  general  loves  the 
winning  of  his  battles — as  the  player  loves  the  win- 
ning of  his  game.  The  dross  itself  is  nothing  to  me ; 
but  if  another  man  take  it  from  me  I  would 
have  him  do  it  either  because  he  is  better  at  the 
game,  or  because  he  has  given  value  in  return.  You 
won  the  price  of  your  wish  in  your  dealing  with 
Petrus.  How  long  are  you  going  to  stay?  What! 
Going  so  soon?  Don't  leave  the  dove  too  long 
alone  on  her  nest !  Be  sure  and  call  upon  us  before 
you  go.  A  rivederci,  Doctor!" 

NOTE. — The  reader  must  understand  that  the  case  of 
Father  Petrus  was  a  very  exceptional  one.  A  property 
intrigue  of  this  character  is  not  more  often  indulged  in  by 
an  Oriental-Orthodox  priest  than  by  ultra  Protestant  min- 
isters, and  the  opportunities  are  about  equally  rare  in  both 
cases.  Indeed  the  Orthodox  pastors  are  more  than  usually 
disinterested  and  naively  unselfish. 

But  Petrus  was  not  the  regular  pastor  of  the  cathedral 
at  Cattaro,  who,  by  reason  of  precarious  health,  had  in- 
203 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

definite  leave  of  absence.  Petrus  was  a  monk  of  the  order 
of  St.  Sava — and  a  monk  is  another  matter.  This  distinc- 
tion has,  perhaps  been  too  seldom  made  in  connection  with 
other  churches.  Besides,  Petrus  was  further  influenced  in 
his  devious  course  by  his  doubt  as  to  Gisela's  orthodoxy — 
a  doubt  which  was  abundantly  justified,  as  the  reader  will 
learn  later.  The  disfavor  with  which  he  would  look  upon 
a  large  property  passing  from  a  supposedly  orthodox  fam- 
ily into  the  hands  of  one  whom  he  suspected  of  being  a 
"heretic,"  can  be  accepted  as  his  real  keynote. 


204 


CHAPTER  XVI 

I  MANUFACTURED  no  fool's  paradise  for  myself 
out  of  the  situation.  I  believed  I  had  put  an  effec- 
tual block  upon  their  intriguing  and  so  far  the 
work  was  good.  But  I  had  left  Gisela  a  free  choice. 
The  significance  of  the  priest's  comment  to  that 
effect  had  not  escaped  me. 

But  I  could  not  have  done  otherwise,  and  what 
this  might  mean  could  only  be  left  to  the  future.  I 
believed,  however,  that  her  intense  hatred  of  her 
cousin  would  protect  her  from  any  act  which  they 
could  use, — now  that  she  would  be  a  free  agent.  In 
any  case,  if  she  should  lose  her  estate  by  a  volun- 
tary act  of  her  own,  I  could  not  prevent  it,  nor 
would  I  care. 

As  for  my  own  interest — I  had  still  to  win  her. 
That  did  not  seem  so  near,  now,  for  while  I  had 
readily  condoned  her  angry  words  in  the  Cathe- 
dral, nevertheless  I  did  not  try  to  deceive  myself 
any  longer  as  to  their  significance.  If  she  had 
really  loved  me,  I  felt  she  could  not  have  uttered 
them.  Nor  had  she,  as  yet,  positively,  said  she 
loved  me.  Her  answer  to  this  question  had  only 
been  the  best  one  she  could  give — and  had  been 
honest,  at  least. 

I  had,  moreover,  a  very  disagreeable  task  to  per- 
form. I  really  liked  the  Signer  and  it  was  no 
pleasant  duty  to  have  to  inform  him  that  his  son 
must  remain  three  years  in  confinement,  as  a  hos- 
tage controlling  his  efforts  against  his  own  ward. 
For  fear  that  I  should  meet  the  mother  and  per- 
haps have  her  break  down  my  resolve,  I  made  up 
205 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

my  mind  not  to  go  to  the  house  again.  So  I  dis- 
patched a  letter  to  the  Signor  asking  him  to  call 
upon  me. 

I  made  this  arrangement  partly  for  the  additional 
reason  that  I  did  not  wish  to  seem  to  seek  Gisela. 
I  was  not  angry,  but  her  words  had  been  uncompro- 
mising, and  I  would  wait  to  see  if  she  repented  of 
them  sufficiently  to  seek  me  out.  If  she  did  not  I 
could  set  her  uneasiness  at  rest  by  explaining  the 
situation  to  Teresa,  at  my  opportunity.  For  the 
rest,  Harry  and  I  began  to  get  our  scattered  things 
together  in  order  to  leave  for  the  north  as  soon  as 
my  commissions  should  be  executed.  My  letter 
to  the  Signor  was  posted  Sunday  evening.  By 
Monday  afternoon  Harry  and  I  were  ready  to  go, 
but  I  had  received  no  reply  from  him. 

The  following  afternoon  near  five  o'clock  I  was 
sitting  alone  over  a  cup  of  coffee  in  the  Dojmi  when 
Enrico  brought  me  a  letter.  He  said  an  answer  was 
awaited.  I  hurriedly  opened  it.  It  read: 

"CARD  SIGNOR: 

It  seems  a  lifetime  since  I  saw  you.  On  ac- 
count of  Paulo's  misfortune  it  is  very  difficult  to 
leave  the  house,  as  the  family  is  in  seclusion;  but 
I  have  thought  constantly  of  you  and  wished  I 
could  see  you. 

I  will  not  conceal  the  fact  that  the  family  are 
no  longer  your  friends,  and  perhaps  you  would 
better  not  come  here  more;  but  I  am  the  same  as 
always,  Eduard,  always  the  same. 

I  hope  you  have  not  forgotten  the  pretty  little 
arrangement  we  planned  when  we  last  met.  I  have 
not,  I  assure  you.  I  hope  nothing  will  interrupt  it, 
for  it  would  be  my  greatest  misfortune  now,  to 
lose  all  communication  with  you. 
206 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Do  you  know,  Signer,  when  I  was  a  little  girl 
they  used  to  call  me  just  'Cara.'  It  is  shortened 
from  'Carissima.'  I  was  never  called  by  my  proper 
name  until  I  was  almost  grown.  They  no  longer 
use  it  now.  I  would  like  to  hear  it  from  you  if 
we  meet,  and  see  it  when  you  write  to  me.  Please 
answer  this,  so  I'll  know  that  everything  is  well 
between  us. 

I  hear  you  are  going  soon.  I  wish  I  could  see 
you  first  but  I  am  afraid  it  will  not  do  here  at  home. 
Perhaps  a  way  will  be  found.  I  think  of  you  every 
day. 

Your 

CARA/' 

It  was  a  queer  little  letter!  And  not  a  reference 
to  our  last  words  in  the  Cathedral!  But  she  did 
not  know,  yet,  that  she  need  no  longer  fear  the 
consequences  of  that  occurrence,  and  would  not 
risk  a  reference  to  it  in  writing.  Still,  I  wished 
there  had  been  one  little  word — one  little  hidden 
phrase,  which  I  alone  would  have  understood, 
which  spoke  of  regret. 

But  I  pulled  myself  up  short.  The  letter  itself 
was  a  sufficient  expression  of  regret.  "Our  pretty 
little  arrangement,"  of  course,  referred  to  our  plan 
to  exchange  letters  through  the  bank.  Of  course 
the  principal  object  of  the  letter  was  the  warning 
not  to  come  to  the  house.  She  did  not  know,  yet 
that  I  would  take  no  risk  in  coming  over.  Now  that 
she  had  written,  I  determined  to  see  her  once 
more,  and  in  her  own  home. 

"Who  brought  this  letter,  Enrico?" 

"An  olda  woman — one  of  the  servants  of  Signer 
Tomanovich,  Dottor." 

Teresa,  of  course. 

207 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Where  is  she,  Enrico?" 

"She  say  she  waita  by  Cattedral.  She  say  you 
musta  not  come,  Dottor.  I  bring  letter  to  her." 

I  could  understand  her  caution  in  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  she  had.  Well,  it  was  warm  and  I 
would  send  the  answer  by  Enrico.  He  was  as  trust- 
worthy as  she.  Enrico  brought  writing  materials, 
and  I  answered  the  letter. 

"Mv  OWN  DEAREST  CARA: 

The  dear  little  pet  name  is  new  to  me,  but  I 
have  repeated  it  many  times  by  now  and  already  I 
am  growing  to  love  it,  because,  from  your  letter,  I 
know  that  I,  only,  am  to  use  it. 

Of  course  I  know  the  Signor  hates  me  now, 
but  I  shall  be  in  no  danger  in  coming  over.  I'll 
explain  all  when  I  see  you. 

So  you  think  of  me  every  day?  I  think  of  you 
every  hour  and  minute.  Cara,  dearest  Cara,  I 
think  of  nothing  else  these  days. 

Indeed,  I  have  not  forgotten  our  'pretty  little 
arrangement.'  We  will  carry  it  out.  We  are  safe 
anyway  now,  Cara,  but  the  little  plan  is  still  best, 
for  various  reasons.  Also  it  will  be  the  dearest  way 
we  shall  have,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  for  me  to 
tell  you  I  love  you,  and  for  you  to  tell  me  the  same 
thing — if  you  will. 

I  do  not  think  the  Signor  will  trouble  us.  I 
have  my  reasons  for  that  belief  and  will  tell  you 
what  they  are  when  I  see  you.  We  shall  likewise 
be  safe  from  the  Ingenieur.  I  no  longer  fear  him, 
nor  need  you.  Be  tranquil.  I  have  arranged  all. 

I  am  sorry  for  Paulo,  but  it  was  his  own  work. 
He  has  himself  to  thank  for  his  situation.    I  knew 
nothing  about  it  until  I  saw  him  arrested. 
208 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Of  course  it  is  all  right  between  us.  When  has 
it  been  otherwise,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned? 

And  now,  dearest  Cara,  be  afraid  no  longer. 
Remember  that  I  love  you.  Something  has  hap- 
pened that  has  placed  it  entirely  in  my  power  to 
smoothe  our  way.  Once  more  again,  you  need  fear 
no  longer  either  the  Signer  or  the  Ingenieur.  We 
can  love  one  another  if  you  will,  dearest  Cara. 
Only  that  is  lacking  now ;  the  if  you  will. 

A  rivederci,  dearest  Cara. 

Your 

EDWARD." 

After  Enrico  had  gone  with  the  reply,  I  read  the 
little  letter  over  and  over  again.  She  wrote  a  beau- 
tiful hand  and  lovely  German  and  I  kissed  the  pretty 
letter  (cautiously  of  course,  for  the  place  was  pub- 
lic) from  one  end  of  the  missive  to  the  other.  And 
it  was  a  dear  little  confidence  between  us — that  little 
name  which  should  be  used  only  by  us.  Cara ! 
And  it  was  appropriate.  I  could  always  use  that 
little  name  with  no  lack  of  its  full  meaning. 

The  world  seemed  bright  again.  I  should  have 
to  wait  three  years  for  her,  but  what  did  that  mat- 
ter? She  had  a  passionate  nature  and  the  idea 
foremost  in  her  mind  dominated  her  for  the  time 
being,  but  her  letter  convinced  me  that  she  really 
loved  me,  after  all.  I  believed  in  her  constancy  in 
every  direction,  and  now  that  she  loved  me  she 
would  be  constant  to  that.  For  the  first  time  since 
I  had  seen  her  on  St.  John's  evening  I  breathed 
the  fresh  warm  air  freely  and  with  an  easy  mind. 


209 


CHAPTER  XVII 

BY  Wednesday  noon  I  had  had  no  word  from  the 
Signor,  and  I  decided  to  go  over  that  afternoon.  I 
sent  a  note  by  messenger  to  the  Signor  acquainting 
him  with  my  intention.  For  various  reasons  I  was 
too  impatient  to  sit  still  in  a  boat  for  the  necessary 
time  to  cross  over  the  gulf,  and  hired  a  saddle  horse 
to  go  around  by  the  road,  starting  about  four. 

I  was  not  long  on  my  way  before  I  found  that  the 
liveryman  had  played  me  a  very  common  trick — 
that  is,  he  had  let  me  have  a  half-broken  horse. 
He  was  a  fine,  big,  powerful  jet  black  gelding  and 
I  soon  had  my  hands  full.  Fortunately  the  after- 
noon was  not  so  hot  as  usual,  and  the  road  was 
fine.  The  chief  concern  of  the  gelding  seemed,  for 
the  present,  to  be  merely  to  go,  as  fast  as  I  would 
let  him, — and  I  let  him;  only  keeping  him  just  on 
the  bit,  paying  no  attention  to  the  stares  of  the 
lazy  loiterers  on  the  road. 

At  Perzagno  I  could  find  no  place  to  stable  the 
lathered  animal  and  have  him  properly  cooled  off, 
and  was  directed  to  the  first  end  of  Stolivo  where 
I  would  find  a  place  for  him.  I  had  been  too  busy 
to  observe  the  Signer's  house  as  I  passed,  for  just 
at  this  place  the  gelding  bolted  at  an  orange  peel 
and  I  did  not  get  him  steadied  for  nearly  a  half 
a  mile  of  very  crooked  road.  I  passed  Le  Tre 
Sorelle  and  finally  came  to  the  place  to  which  I 
had  been  directed.  Sincerely  regretting  now,  that 
I  had  brought  the  animal,  I  gave  him  in  charge  of  a 
stableman  who  informed  me  that  no  one  would 
be  there  if  I  came  late,  and  that  I  would  have  to 
210 


The    A c c u r s e  d    R o c c o s 

saddle  up  for  myself.  He  showed  me  where  a 
lantern  and  matches  were  to  be  found. 

When,  coming  back  afoot,  I  saw  the  Signer's 
residence  again,  I  noticed  two  men  on  the  veranda 
in  whom,  as  I  came  up  the  path,  I  recognized  the 
Signor  and  the  Ingenieur.  They  rose  and  bowed 
gravely  but  neither  offered  his  hand. 

"Be  seated,  Herr  Doktor  Ransome,"  said  the 
Signor,  "we  were  expecting  you  by  water  and  had 
about  given  you  up.  We  were  quite  surprised  to 
see  you  go  by  on  horseback." 

"That  is  a  spirited  animal  you  were  riding,"  said 
the  Ingenieur.  "He  is  fine !  I  think  he  must  be  pure 
Hungarian.  I  saw  him  going  on  both  sides  of  the 
road  at  once  down  there.  Who's  is  it?" 

But  the  preliminary  conversation  was  short  and 
halting.  I  had  the  feeling  that  neither  of  them 
would  have  endured  it  at  all  if  the  courtesy  of  their 
own  house  had  not  demanded .  it.  I  decided  to 
shorten  my  errand  all  I  could.  Accordingly,  with 
an  apology  to  the  Ingenieur,  I  asked  the  Signor  for 
a  private  conversation.  The  Ingenieur  rose  and 
excused  himself.  After  he  disappeared  the  Signor 
himself  began. 

"I  think  I  know  what  you  have  to  say  to  me, 
Doktor  Ransome.  Father  Petrus  was  here  Sunday 
evening  and  stated  that  you  and  he  had  met  in  the 
church.  He  has  explained  the  state  of  affairs.  I 
understand  that  you  will  hold  my  son  as  a  hostage. 
Is  there  more  to  say?" 

"Do  you  fully  understand  my  terms,  Signor?" 

"Oh,  I  believe  so.  My  niece  is  to  attain  her  ma- 
jority safely  and  then  receive  the  whole  of  her 
estate.  Is  not  that  it  ?" 

"Or  if  she  elect  to  marry  before  then,  she  is  to 
be  allowed  to  do  so  within  reason.  And  I  am  to 

211 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

have  access  to  her  at  reasonable  times  and  places. 
She  is  to  have  a  free  will  in  the  meantime,  in  any 
direction  which  is  usual  in  the  case  of  a  woman 
of  her  position  in  life." 

"Yes.    That  was  all  stated  to  me  also.    Well?" 

"That  is  all,  Signer.  Now,  if  you  please,  I  will 
see  your  niece  a  moment  or  two  and  then  say  good- 
bye to  you  all." 

"Gisela  will  not  see  you,  Herr  Doktor." 

"Have  a  care,  Signer!    I  can" 

"Do  you,  on  your  side,  have  a  care,  Doktor  Ran- 
some!"  he  thundered.  "Understand  now,  once  for 
all,  that  no  member  of  this  family  will  ever  ask 
quarter  at  your  hands !  You  are  going  to  keep  my 
son  in  confinement  for  three  years.  Very  well! 
We,  as  a  family,  accept  the  terms.  I  shall  not  even 
offer  you  my  bond, — my  word  of  honor — or  any 
other  thing,  to  get  him  free.  I  know  he  would  not 
have  it  if  he  could  be  consulted.  He  shall  serve 
out  the  time.  Afterwards  he  will  settle  the  debt 
with  you!" 

He  was  purple,  but  spoke  the  latter  sentences 
low  and  between  his  teeth. 

"Have  you  had  word  from  Paulo  himself  that  he 
will  settle  with  me?" 

"Certainly  not!  How  could  that  occur?  But  he 
will  be  no  son  of  mine  if  he  does  not  have  a  reckon- 
ing with  you !" 

"Very  well!  I  am  forewarned,  and  shall  take 
steps  accordingly.  Now,  do  you  forbid  me  to  see 
your  niece  ?  Yes,  or  no !" 

"I  have  not  said  that  I  forbade  it.  I  said  she 
would  not  see  you.  Her  room  is  at  the  end  of  the 
veranda.  She  is  within.  You  are  perfectly  wel- 
come to  ask  admittance.  If  she  will  see  you,  it  is 
nothing  to  me.  And,  Doktor,  we  at  last  under- 
212 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

stand  one  another.  Hereafter,  when  you  come  to 
my  house,  if  you  elect  to  do  so,  it  will  be  only  to 
see  my  niece.  The  rest  of  us  will  beg  you  to  ex- 
cuse us.  I  do  not  speak  for  Signer  Ober-Leutnant 
Overmann,  of  course.  Adieu,  Doktor  Ransome." 

He  made  a  stately  bow  and  passed  into  the  door. 

I  called  him.  I  did  not  intend  to  argue  with  him 
further  but  it  was  necessary  that  he  fully  under- 
stand. 

"Signer, — just  one  word  more.  I  have  under- 
stood you,  but  you  have  clearly  not  fully  understood 
the  situation  yet.  It  is  true,  Signor,  that  I  mean 
to  have  Paulo  liberated  after  three  years,  if  all  goes 
well  with  your  niece.  But,  Signor,  I  am  telling  you 
the  mere  truth  when  I  assure  you  that  it  would 
be  far  simpler  to  keep  your  son  in  durance  for  the 
rest  of  his  life,  than  to  liberate  him  after  three 


years 


He  bowed  once  more,  and  I  returned  the  cour- 
tesy. Then  I  walked  down  the  veranda  and  rapped 
upon  Gisela's  door.  At  first  there  was  no  an- 
swer, and  I  began  to  think  she  had  been  spirited 
away.  However,  in  answer  to  a  third  and  impe- 
rious knock  she  opened  the  door  and  faced  me. 

I  had  expected  something  different  from  what  I 
saw  in  her  face.  It  wore  the  same  expression  it  had 
when  she  had  visited  upon  me  her  last  two  speeches 
in  the  Cathedral.  I  could  find  no  words. 

"Well,  Doctor  Ransome,  what  do  you  wish  with 
me?" 

"Sweetheart,  what  is" 

"Don't  you  dare  utter  that  word  to  me !  You  are 
false! — falser  than  the  very  Shades  themselves! 
I  will  never  hear  a  word  from  your  lying  tongue 
again!  Never  let  me  see  your  false,  hypocritical 
face  more !  Go !  Go  to  my  cousin !  You  were  made 
213 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

for  one  another  and  it  would  be  a  sin  to  keep  you 
apart !  Go !" 

She  closed  the  door  firmly  and  sharply,  and  I  was 
alone  on  the  veranda. 

It  must  be  realized  that  I  had  kept  my  temper 
only  with  difficulty  in  my  conversation  with  her  un- 
cle ;  so  it  had  already  been  very  near  the  firing-point 
when  I  had  gone  to  her  door.  Under  such  circum- 
stances my  surprise  at  her  reception  gave  way  to  a 
settled  and  lasting  anger.  I  did  not  understand,  but 
I  did  not  try.  If  her  moods  were  no  more  reliable 
than  this,  I  said  to  myself,  I  were  well  rid  of  her. 
Well,  and  good !  She  should,  in  fact,  never  see  my 
face  again !  I  strode  down  the  veranda  and  with- 
out a  backward  look  went  down  the  walk  and  out 
onto  the  road,  taking  my  way  to  Stolivo. 

It  was  now  dark,  and  I  was  hoping  that  the 
devil  I  had  to  ride  would  be  tired  enough  to  behave 
himself.  Having  arrived  at  the  stable  I  lighted  a 
lantern  and  went  in.  The  gelding  leveled  a  kick  at 
me  which  barely  missed,  and  I  leveled  one  at  him 
which  did  not  miss.  After  a  battle  I  got  him  sad- 
dled, got  on  his  back  and  started.  He  bolted  twice 
and  then  steadied  up  a  bit.  He  was  splendidly  gait- 
ed,  and  once  he  was  tamed  would  be  a  delight  to 
ride.  There  was  no  moon  but  the  night  was  clear 
and  the  stars  were  doing  their  best.  I  held  the  beast 
a  little  and  he  took  a  comfortable  single-foot.  I 
could  see  every  inch  of  the  white  road  way,  and 
would  have  found  the  ride  a  delight  had  my 
thoughts  been  other  than  they  were. 

As  we  came  up  to  Le  Tre  Sorelle  I  took  a  last 
look  at  the  ruin.  It  looked  grim  and  forbidding  in 
the  star-light  and  I  was  glad  to  turn  my  eyes  for- 
ward again.  As  we  came  even  with  the  house  I 
saw  a  flash  of  light  and  thought  I  heard  a  call,  and 
214 


"As  we  came  to  the  ruin,  I   saw  a  flash   of  light." 
(Accursed  Roccos.) 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  horse  instantly  bolted  and  we  were  far  down  the 
road  before  I  got  him  pulled  up.  He  danced  all 
over  the  road  and  onto  the  rock-piers  and  tried 
once  more  to  bolt  homeward.  Who  had  called  ?  It 
had  sounded  like  my  name  and  had  seemed  to  come 
from  the  ruin  itself ! — Pshaw ! 

Convinced  that  I  had  been  the  victim  of  a  perfer- 
vid  imagination,  I  allowed  the  horse  to  go.  After 
a  few  more  shies  and  bolts  he  settled  down  to  his 
work,  and  we  flew  along  the  fine  curving  road.  I 
realized  his  beautiful  gait  and  was  conscious  of  a 
wish  to  become  his  owner;  but  such  thoughts  soon 
passed,  and  my  mind  settled  upon  the  Tomanovich 
family  again. 

Gisela  had  shown  herself  utterly  unworthy  of  my 
efforts  to  protect  her.  Why  should  I  put  the  banker 
to  such  an  immense  expense  on  her  account  ?  I  re- 
solved to  release  him  from  his  promise.  It  was  not 
worth  while.  On  my  side,  why  should  I  encumber 
myself  with  a  heritage  of  hatred  and  perhaps  a 
vendetta  for  a  woman  who  had  evidently  been 
merely  amusing  herself  with  me?  "Lying  tongue! 
False,  hypocritical  face!  Made  for  her  cousin!" 
These  words  were  but  her  means  for  closing  the 
chapter!  Harry  had  indeed  known  what  he  was 
talking  about!  The  banker  and  Enrico  were  the 
only  Italians  I  had  found  here  who  were  not  false, 
and  with  this  thought  my  resolve  to  release  the 
banker  from  his  obligation  to  hold  Paulo  became 
iron.  I  would  let  him  do  what  he  himself  pleased 
to  do  with  the  young  man.  I  would  wash  my  hands 
of  it  all. 

I  carried  out  the  last  named  resolve  the  following 
morning.  The  banker  seemed  surprised,  but  asked 
me  no  questions.  He  bade  me  a  most  cordial  good- 

215 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

bye,  and  once  more  reminded  me  of  the  letter 
which  he  had  given  me  in  case  of  need. 

Harry  and  I  took  the  noon  boat  and  about  half 
past  one  we  passed  out  of  the  Bocche  into  the 
Adriatic. 

There  comes  to  us,  sometimes  an  acme  of  misery 
which  has  so  far  passed  endurance  as  to  bring  about 
a  positive  relief;  that  is,  there  comes  a  time  when 
the  healthy  brain  will  respond  to  sadness  no  longer, 
and  rebounds.  It  was  so  with  me  now.  As  the 
ship  settled  upon  her  northerly  course  I  watched 
the  Punta  d'Ostro  close  in  upon  the  Punta  d'Arza 
as  my  closing  of  the  chapter ;  and  began  to  pace  the 
deck,  and  to  inhale  the  sea  breeze,  and  to  turn  my 
mind  forwards  instead  of  backwards. 


216 


PART   II 

(AFTER  TWO  YEARS) 


PART   II 

(AFTER  TWO  YEARS) 


CHAPTER  I 

FOR  a  time,  after  returning  finally  to  Vienna, 
I  heard  at  intervals  from  Signer  Sbutega; 
but  nothing  happened,  and  after  some  months 
his  letters  ceased,  the  only  occurrence  of  interest 
during  the  interval  being  the  ultimate  re- 
lease of  Paulo,  which  was  effected  about  eight 
months  after  his  arrest.  I  never  troubled  to 
inquire  how  it  came  about.  The  banker  had  writ- 
ten that  Paulo  had  acquitted  me  of  having  placed 
the  papers  in  his  coat,  he  asserting  that  no  such  act 
on  my  part  had  been  possible,  and  some  days  later 
I  received  a  short  letter  from  the  Signor  apologiz- 
ing for  the  accusation,  though  he  had  not  uttered 
the  words  to  me.  I  acknowledged  this  and  the 
matter  was  closed. 

From  Gisela  I  received  no  line  or  message.  I 
never  forgot  her,  but  little  by  little,  as  the  busy 
months  flew  by,  Time  drew  his  charitable  and  kind- 
ly veil  and  Gisela  became  a  memory  to  be  recalled 
now  and  then  in  an  idle  or  lonely  hour. 

When  I  had  arrived  in  Vienna,  the  first  thing  I 
219 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

saw  in  my  rooms  was  the  express  package  contain- 
ing the  old  violin.  At  that  time,  the  sight  of  it  had 
caused  an  ugly  pang.  What  should  I  do  with  it  ?  I 
had  promised  to  keep  it  and  never  let  it  go  to  any 
hand  but  her  own.  Of  course,  I  could  have  re- 
turned it,  and  of  course  the  reason  I  did  not,  was  a 
sub-conscious  unwillingness  to  break  the  very  last 
thread  which  connected  me  with  the  woman  I  had 
loved  so  well.  Had  this  reason  not  been  sub-con- 
scious, I  would  have  returned  it,  promptly.  The 
result  was  that  without  removing  the  packing-  in 
which  it  had  come,  without  even  looking  to  see  if 
the  instrument  had  arrived  in  safety,  I  stored  the 
package  in  an  empty  trunk  in  the  attic  of  the  house 
where  my  apartments  were,  and  it  was  more  than 
three  long  years  before  my  eyes  rested  upon  it 
again. 

Of  Lubitza's  coming  we  never  had  any  news.  I 
assumed  that  she  had  gone  elsewhere. 

Harry,  having  nothing  to  forget,  resumed  his 
regular  daily  round  of  work  at  once.  In  three  days 
he  had  quarreled  bitterly  with  his  professor  about 
how  much  the  thumb  of  his  bow-hand  should  be 
bent  while  playing,  and  about  straight  bowing  in 
general,  for,  like  his  great  Belgian  master,  he  had 
a  sweeping  lack  of  respect  for  this  generally  ac- 
cepted rule,  his  bow  swinging  gracefully  from  side 
to  side  and  bearing  on  the  strings  anywhere  between 
the  bridge  and  an  inch  beyond  the  end  of  the  finger- 
board. Yet  he  had  a  great  tone  and  never  scratched. 
However,  either  Harry  had  really  grown  a  little 
more  settled  or  his  Viennese  master  was  a  little 
more  indulgent  or  diplomatic,  for  he  remained 
with  his  professor  and  worked  faithfully  and  hard. 
He  progressed  with  a  rapidity  almost  beyond  be- 
lief, and  his  professor  one  day  informed  me  con- 

220 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

fidentially  that  he  meant  to  give  Harry  his  debut  in 
half  the  time  he  had  promised. 

I  did  not  see  Harry  every  day  but  we  foregath- 
ered Sundays.  By  tacit  consent  the  subjects  of 
Cattaro  and  its  people  were  taboo. 

I  am  now  taking  up  my  account  at  a  period  of 
nearly  two  years  after  my  parting  with  Gisela. 
The  summer  at  Cattaro,  while  not  forgotten,  had 
become  veiled. 

Therefore  nothing  could  have  been  more  unwel- 
come than  any  recalling  of  it.  That,  however,  was 
destined  to  occur. 

Early  in  February  a  new  star  burst  in  brilliance 
upon  the  operatic  world.  She  had  made  her  debut 
as  Lucia  in  Berlin,  and  was  pronounced  a  colora- 
tura the  like  of  which  had  come  into  the  world  but 
once  or  twice  before.  Report  had  it  that  she  had 
studied  in  Italy  and  later  had  worked  in  Vienna, 
Dresden  and  Berlin.  Report  had  it  also  that  "the 
Tomaso's"  life  was  as  tinted  as  her  singing,  and  this 
consideration  alone  was  enough  to  advertise  her 
favorably  in  Vienna.  Her  name  was  connected 
with  no  special  persons,  but  many  particulars  of 
her  gay  disposition  were  related,  and  her  name  was 
a  sweet  morsel  on  the  tongue  of  every  man-about- 
town  in  the  city. 

The  demand  upon  our  operatic  management  for 
her  appearance  in  the  Royal  opera  grew  more  and 
more  insistent  with  every  new  report  of  her 
triumphs  in  the  north,  and  her  pictures,  in  different 
poses  and  costumes,  began  to  filter  by  the  hundred 
into  shop  windows  and  drawing-rooms  everywhere. 
At  last,  as  our  operatic  seaon  was  nearing  its  close 
we  heard  that  she  was  to  appear  here  shortly  for  a 
few  evenings,  as  a  starring  guest  of  our  manage- 

221 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

merit  ("gastieren")  and  that  she  had  been  regularly 
engaged  here  for  the  following  year. 

Of  course  I  had  recognized  Lubitza  in  these  pic- 
tures displayed  everywhere,  but  her  re-appearance 
on  my  horizon  did  not  trouble  me  at  first;  more- 
over, although  I  had  not  heard  a  word  about  her 
during  her  studies,  her  final  appearance  was,  of 
course,  no  matter  for  surprise.  I  gave  her  signal 
and  prompt  success  a  passing  thought,  and  then 
forgot  her  again.  She  had  never  interested  me.  It 
was  not  until  she  had  actually  sung  in  Vienna  and 
Harry  had  brought  his  unbounded  enthusiasm  home 
to  my  rooms  that  I  woke  up  and  realized  that  we 
would, — must, — meet,  directly  or  indirectly,  at 
some  time  or  other. 

Harry  was  effervescent  over  her,  and  discussed 
critically  and  at  great  length  her  tone-placing, 
breadth  and  sweetness  of  tone,  accurate  intonation 
in  every  most  difficult  passage,  and  also  her  fine 
acting,  to  all  of  which  I  listened  in  moody  silence. 

I  did  not  hate  Lubitza,  for  the  reader  will  re- 
member that  so  far  as  I  knew  I  had  no  reason  to 
do  so  on  any  personal  grounds.  She  had  been 
pretty  to  me — and  very  patient,  even.  Any  feeling 
I  had  against  Lubitza  was  purely  on  Gisela's  ac- 
count. Lubitza  had  hated  Gisela — but  Gisela  had 
likewise  hated  Lubitza.  There  was  left,  then,  only 
Lubitza's  intriguing  against  her  cousin,  and  I  was 
inclined  to  hold  her  own  father  much  more  for 
that,  than  herself.  For  her  feeling  against  Gisela, 
personally,  I  could  not  altogether  condemn  her.  I 
had  learned  to  my  cost  that  Gisela  was  not  without 
fire  of  her  own. 

So  it  was  not  by  reason  of  hatred  or  dislike  for 
Lubitza  that  I  regretted  her  coming  here,  and  was 
wishing  Harry  would  leave  off,  but  because  this 

222 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

new  event  was  stirring  up  dregs  which  I  wished 
to  remain  settled. 

I  suppose  Harry  discoursed  for  an  hour  or  more 
going  over  every  detail  of  the  opera  he  had  heard 
the  previous  evening  and  contrasting  her  work  with 
that  of  other  favorite  artists.  After  a  long  con- 
cluding panegyric  he  informed  me  that  she  was  to 
sing  in  "Hoffman's  Tales"  the  following  Saturday 
night,  and  commanded  me  to  go. 

"No !  By  the  Lord,  no !"  And  I  got  up  and  be- 
gan to  pace  the  floor.  I  threw  up  a  window  and 
drank  in  a  little  of  the  fresh  cold  air.  Then  I 
closed  it  and  sat  down  again.  I  wished,  for  once, 
that  Harry  would  go.  He  watched  me  in  silent 
reproach,  as  usual,  when  bothered,  hunched  up  in 
his  chair.  He  got  up  as  if  to  go — then  reconsid- 
ered and  reseated  himself  to  study  me  some  more. 
Finally  he  said,  in  a  patient  sort  of  tone : 

"Ed,  this  is  not  like  you.  I  remember  pretty  well 
what  occurred  summer  before  last,  and  I  can't 
think  of  anything  Lubitza  did  which  ought  to  make 
you  feel  like  this.  That  is,  if  you  told  me  every- 
thing." 

"Oh,  you  knew  all  there  was,  Harry." 

"Leave  old  bones  buried,  Ed !  The  times  and  cir- 
cumstances have  changed.  I  believe  she  is  a  differ- 
ent woman  now." 

"Yes !  I  have  heard  so !"  I  remarked  grimly. 
"The  Tomaso  has  not  been  mentioned  in  my  hear- 
ing as  an  innocent  home  girl !" 

"Oh,  come,  Ed!  I  don't  believe  that  slanderous 
rot.  There  is  talk  about  almost  every  woman  on 
the  stage.  Half  of  it  is  advertising  dodge.  Be- 
sides, she  wasn't  exactly  innocent  when  she  was  at 
home." 

"I  don't  understand  these  things  but  Count 
223 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Weyer  once  told  me  that  a  prude  who  tried  to  suc- 
ceed on  the  stage  was  like  a  six-year-old  trying  to 
ride  a  bucking  horse.  Some  six-year-olds  might 
stick  on  for  one  buck,  but  not  many.  I  do  not 
fancy  Lubitza  has  had  to  overcome  many  obstacles. 
She  has  been  pushed; — not  held  back.  Besides, 
there  must  be  something  in  all  this  talk  about  her. 
There  is  too  much  of  it.  Again,  I  happen  to  know 
— since  you  have  reminded  me — that  Lubitza  had 
just  the  stuff  in  her  to  make  such  a  woman." 

"Well,  what  business  is  that  of  ours,  Ed?  To 
us  she  is  only  the  artist !" 

"But  you  are  not  speaking  for  her  as  merely  the 
artist — you  are  counseling  me  to  forget  the  sum- 
mer before  last,  Harry.  Have  you  talked  with 
her?" 

"Not  yet.  I  have  only  had  a  little  smile  from 
her  as  I  sat  in  the  audience, — when  she  was  re- 
called. But,  Ed,  there  is  a  difference  between  a 
prude  on  the  stage  and  a  woman  who  can  be  a  good 
fellow  but  still  able  to  steer  her  ship.  I  believe  she 
can." 

"As  an  operatic  singer,  I'll  grant  it.  She  has 
done  it." 

"As  a  woman,  also.  What  was  the  meaning  of 
your  remark  that  she  had  the  stuff  in  her  to  make 
such  a  woman  ?" 

But  this  was  the  one  thing  I  had  not  told  Harry. 
I  had  not  thought  it  was  fair  play  to  do  so.  I  had 
based  the  remark  upon  the  conversation  which  had 
occurred  at  the  gate  the  first  day  Gisela  had  re- 
fused to  see  me,  and  the  grounds  for  my  opinion 
were  just.  Nevertheless,  I  did  not  blame  Harry 
for  finding  my  refusal  unsatisfactory. 

"It  seems  that  I  do  not  know  all,  then." 
224 


The    A  c  c  u  r  s  e d    R o c c o s 

"You  know  everything  that  occurred.  I  am  re- 
serving only  one  private  conversation." 

"Oh,  well,  then,  let  her  be  what  she  will  in  her 
private  life!  I  don't  care  a  rap,  and  neither  does 
anybody  else.  The  public  never  cares  anything 
about  that  sort  of  thing.  Artists  are  not  expected 
to  go  in  harness  like  the  draft  horses.  Since  when 
have  you  become  so  damned  moral?" 

"You  are  wide  of  the  mark,  Harry.  It  is  simply 
that  I  don't  wish  to  have  summer  before  last  re- 
called by  her!" 

"Yes,"  he  answered  slowly.  "I  see  your  point  at 
last.  Forgive  me,  Ed.  But  I  was  thinking  that 
that  was  all  dead  now.  I  have  been  very  dull !" 

"So  it  is; — dead.  But  I  don't  care  to  meet  Lu- 
bitza  all  the  same." 

"I  understand.  But  it  is  a  great  pity,  Ed,  that 
you  won't  go  and  hear  her.  She  will  not  be  Lubitza 
on  the  stage  Saturday  night,  but  the  doll  Olympia, 
the  courtesan  Giulietta,  and  the  stricken  Antonia. 
And  she  is  an  artist — a  great  artist.  It  is  due  your 
own  education  to  hear  her  at  least  once.  She  will 
sing  all  three  roles,  and  they  say  she  has  never  yet 
been  equaled  in  this  opera.  The  orchestra  will  be 
enlarged,  Leutzmann  is  to  sing  Hoffmann  and 
Kuntze  will  read  the  score.  Don't  miss  the  best 
thing  this  year!  I'll  get  tickets  from  the  artists' 
allotment.  You  couldn't  buy  one  at  the  box  office 
tomorrow.  I'll  come  for  you.  Be  ready  at  six." 

He  was  already  half  way  down  the  hallway.  I 
called  out: 

"See  that  the  tickets  are  not  near  the  stage,  other- 
wise I  go  into  the  stehplatz — or  out !" 

"All  right,  Ed/'^he  called^back. 

And  go  I  did,  with  many  inward  misgivings,  fear- 
ing too  many  reminders  of  the  past,  coupled  with  a 
225 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

not  unnatural  interest  and  curiosity.  And  it  was 
not  long  after  the  opera  began  that  I  forgot  objec- 
tions and  misgivings  and  all  else  save  the  beautiful 
work  upon  the  stage  and  the  artists  in  their  title 
roles.  For  Harry's  enthusiasm  had  had  every 
ground.  "The  Tomaso"  was  an  artist — a  great  ar- 
tist, and  held  her  audience  spellbound.  I  forgot 
all  prejudices  and  scruples,  forgot  that  she  was  Lu- 
bitza,  forgot  that  I  had  ever  known  or  seen  her  be- 
fore, and  did  not  think  of  it  again  even  during  the 
recalls.  After  the  last  curtain  I  remained  with 
Harry  and  the  other  enthusiasts  giving  my  hearty 
meed  of  applause  until  the  lights  were  turned  out 
on  us,  and  we  had  to  go. 

"Well,"  said  Harry,  "was  I  right?  Who  would 
have  thought  that  Lubitza  had  all  that  in  her!" 

"Hush,  Harry.  I  have  not  heard  Lubitza  tonight. 
I  have  heard  'the  Tomaso' — and  I  don't  want  to 
forget  her." 


226 


CHAPTER  II 

BUT  after  two  weeks  a  new  matter  engaged  the 
attention  of  both  Harry  and  myself  to  the  present 
exclusion  of  all  else,  even  "the  Tomaso,"  and  again 
I  forgot  her  for  the  time  being. 

The  new  matter  was  none  other  than  Harry's 
debut.  One  evening  he  said: 

"Ed,  if  that  old  violin  of  yours  only  had  its  orig- 
inal tone !" 

His  own  instrument,  a  Bergonzi,  did  not  have 
the  power  required  for  principal  playing  with  full 
orchestra,  and  I  had  prepared  a  surprise  for  him. 
From  the  son  of  a  well-known  luthier  in  Germany, 
a  personal  friend  of  mine,  I  had  secretly  borrowed 
a  "Strad"  for  the  occasion  and  this  evening  I  hand- 
ed it  to  him.  He  took  one  look  at  it,  then  disap- 
peared for  a  practice  far  into  the  night  in  defiance 
of  the  ten  o'clock  law.  He  forgot  to  thank  me.  I 
had  expected  he  would  overlook  that  mere  detail. 

The  eventful  evening  finally  arrived  and  found 
me  in  an  end  seat  of  the  sixth  row  in  the  parquette 
of  the  Grosser  Musik-Vereins  Saal,  awaiting  his 
first  number  with  keen  interest  but  no  anxiety  for 
I  knew  Harry  was  well  prepared  and  would  be 
troubled  by  no  embarrassment.  The  hall  was  filled 
by  a  smartly  dressed  crowd  and  evidently  all  was 
well  at  the  box  office  end. 

When  Harry  appeared  his  case  was  half  won  at 
once.  His  fine  tall  figure,  no  longer  so  lanky  now, 
his  handsome  face  and  full  wavy  iron-rust  locks 
produced  their  sensation  as  many  an  exclamation 
from  pretty  lips  round  about  me  abundantly  testi- 
227 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

fied.  His  first  number  was  the  extremly  difficult 
concerto  by  Tschaikowsky  and  when  he  first  drew 
bow  across  that  Strad  his  conquest  was  complete. 

During  an  orchestral  interlude  near  the  end  of  the 
concerto  I  caught  his  eye  and  smiled  happily.  He 
raised  his  bow  slightly  and  I  took  this  as  an 
acknowledgement.  I  cannot  convey  in  words  my 
pleasure  and  pride  in  seeing  my  friend  and  fellow- 
countryman  score  such  a  success  among  these  hy- 
percritical musical  people  right  upon  their  own 
ground,  and  in  a  domain  which  is  their  own  pet 
pride. 

Again  twice  during  the  Mendelssohn  concerto 
he  caught  my  eye  and  raised  his  bow,  and  now  I 
understood  that  he  was  pointing  with  it.  I  hastily 
looked  over  the  part  of  the  hall  indicated  and  final- 
ly spied  Lubitza.  She  was  bent  a  little  forward  in 
her  chair,  her  face  of  a  high  color,  her  eyes  wide, 
drinking  in  every  note  from  the  player  and  seeing 
naught  else.  I  remembered  immediately  that  this 
was  the  first  time  she  had  heard  Harry's  playing.  If 
her  attitude  and  expression  meant  anything  at  all 
it  meant  that  I  should  never  be  troubled  by  her 
again,  and  I  sank  back  in  my  seat  better  satisfied 
than  ever.  I  forgot  that  Lubitza  was  an  artist,  and 
ever  at  her  best  when  concerned  with  anything  per- 
taining to  her  art; — for  in  this,  at  least,  she  was 
always  absolutely  unselfish.  And  I  forgot  that 
Gisela  had  told  me  that  Lubitza  was  prone  to  want 
what  she  could  not  have.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
Mendelssohn  number  I  looked  again  and  saw  her 
standing  up  wildly  applauding,  with  her  eyes  on 
the  door  into  the  artists'  room,  and  all  unconscious 
of  it,  with  her  own  circle  of  admirers  in  that  part 
of  the  audience  round  about  her.  Yes,  in  musical 
art  she  was  unselfish.  She  was  giving  unstinted 
228 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

praise  to  the  art  of  another,  and  she  looked  better 
to  me  than  ever  before,  even  than  in  "Hoffman's 
Tales."  I  gave  her  full  credit  for  the  one  fine 
thread  which  by  chance  had  gone  into  her  weaving. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Brahm's  Concerto  came 
that  pretty  sight  which  is  seen  whenever  any  great 
violinist  is  heard  in  Vienna.  Many  of  the  Conser- 
vatoristen  all  young  players  and  many  of  them 
young  girls,  gathered  at  the  very  foot  of  the  stage 
to  have  a  closer  study  of  the  soloist's  technique  dur- 
ing the  recalls.  I  saw  Lubitza  work  her  way 
through  these  to  that  end  of  the  stage  where  the 
artists'  door  was.  An  official  stood  there  to  bar 
entrance,  but  he  stood  aside  for  her.  She  ascended 
to  that  wing  of  the  stage  where  a  large  body  of 
Conservatoristen  were,  and  these  literally  enfolded 
her  in  a  composite  embrace.  Clearly  she  had  been 
unselfish  with  them,  too. 

At  this  juncture  some  one  tapped  me  on  the 
shoulder,  and  turning  I  found  Count  Weyer-Rein- 
bach  by  my  side.  I  had  just  time  to  greet  him 
warmly  when  Harry,  obeying  his  third  recall,  came 
now,  with  his  violin.  With  his  feet  encircled  by 
a  mass  of  rapt  young  faces  he  played  a  nocturne  by 
Ernst.  His  purity  of  style  and  broad,  great  tone 
showed  here  to  the  greatest  advantage. 

During  the  following  uproar  the  Count  said  : 

"Your  friend  has  his  way  clear  before  him  now. 
Still,  remember,  that  the  musical  critics  of  the  press 
require  a  certain  sweetening  other  than  the  sweet 
sounds  of  a  fiddle.  You  know"  (and  he  nudged 
me),  "the  sound  of  clink — clink." 

"Oh,  Count!"  I  laughed,  "I  believe  they  are  all 
honest!" 

"Sleep  if  you  like,  but  don't  let  your  friend  sleep 
—by  the  way,  is  not  that  'the  Tomaso'  up  there? — 
229 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

I  thought  so.    She  is  a  true  artist.    I  wish  I  knew 
somebody  who  could  introduce  me." 

Nothing  had  been  further  from  my  intentions 
than  any  hunting  up  of  Lubitza.  I  was  perfectly 
willing  for  this  star  to  shine  for  me  from  afar. 
But  here  was  a  chance  at  last  to  oblige  the  Count, 
and  I  was  in  his  debt  for  many  courtesies.  It  was 
the  first  chance  I  had  ever  had  to  do  him  a  real  fa-1 
vor.  I  hesitated,  but  the  sense  of  obligation  would 
not  down. 

l  Besides,  why  should  I  not?  What  had  she  ever 
done  to  me  except  to  try  to  flatter  me  the  best  she 
knew  how  ?  And  to-night  I  had  the  feeling  that  she 
would  trouble  me  no  more.  A  little  of  curiosity 
there  was,  too.  I  will  not  attempt  to  deny  it. 

"Well,  Count,  it  happens,  fortunately,  that  I  can 
oblige  you — if  not  tonight,  at  some  other  time." 

''What!  You  know  her?  You  are  blessed! 
Why,  Doctor  Ransome,  I  have  been  casting  about 
in  that  direction  ever  since  she  first  came,  without 
any  luck!" 

"But,  Count,  what  will  the  Graefin  say?  I  don't 
want  to  get  on  the  wrong  side  of  her !" 

"No  fear!  The  Graefin  is  a  wise  woman.  She 
knows  she  has  my  best,  and  doesn't  trouble  her 
head  about  my  worst.  And  she  knows  it  wouldn't 
do  any  good  if  she  did.  So  she  draws  the  line  at 
the  house  door,  only." 

"Liberal  bounds,  surely!  Well,  as  soon  as 
Harry's  recalls  are  over  we  will  go  into  the  artists' 
room  and  see  him.  I  think  she  also  is  planning 
to  go  in.  Harry  will  introduce  you.  He  knows 
her  better  than  I  do." 

"She  is  a  handsome  woman.  Who  was  she  any- 
how ?  Tomaso  is  a  stage  name,  is  it  not  ?" 

We  were  hissed  into  silence  by  people   round 
230 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

about.  It  was  rather  welcome,  as  I  preferred  to 
let  the  Count  find  out  about  Lubitza  for  himself. 

At  last,  after  the  fifth  recall  number,  Harry 
came  out  and  smilingly  shook  his  head.  The  lights 
began  to  go  out,  patch  by  patch,  and  the  Count  and 
I  pushed  our  way  toward  the  end  of  the  stage. 

"Can  you  get  us  by  that  fellow  there?"  I  asked. 

"What?  That  block-head?  See  me  do  it!"  He 
smilingly  took  the  sentinel  by  the  shoulders  and 
pushed  him  aside.  The  man,  recognizing  him, 
laughingly  bowed,  and  we  were  soon  in  the  artists' 
room. 

An  enthusiastic  gathering  was  already  there,  all 
trying  to  shake  Harry's  hand  at  once,  and  all  chat- 
tering at  once,  and  it  was  some  moments  before  he 
saw  us.  We  saw  Lubitza  go  up  to  him.  She  threw 
her  arms  about  his  neck,  drew  his  head  down  and 
kissed  him  on  the  cheek.  The  company  applauded. 

"Ah !"  said  the  Count,  "I  see  the  proof  of  for- 
mer acquaintanceship  signed,  sealed  and  delivered ! 
What  a  mistake  in  life  I  have  made !  I  should 
have  studied  the  violin !" 

"What,  Count?    Struck  hard?" 

"From  the  first !" 

''Well,  let  us  lose  no  further  time  for  fear  a  fire 
break  out!  Come  on." 

We  pushed  through  the  mob.  Harry  saw  us  and 
shouted  a  jovial  welcome.  Lubitza  turned,  saw  me, 
and  grasped  both  of  my  hands.  As  Harry  and  the 
Count  exchanged  courtesies,  I  found  time  to  whis- 
per to  her: 

"You  have  made  a  serious  conquest," — and  I 
indicated  the  Count  with  my  eyes.  She  looked  at 
him  and  made  a  face. 

"Are  those  your  first  words  to  me?"  she  asked. 

"Yes,  but  not  my  first  thoughts.  I  do  not  see 
231 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

'the  Tomaso'  for  the  first  time  tonight.  When  you 
sing  I  am  just  like  everybody  else  in  Vienna — your 
slave." 

She  rapped  my  ear  with  her  lorgnette. 

"We  shall  see.    Who  is  your  friend?" 

"Count  Weyer-Reinbach." 

"Oh !  Yes,  I  remember,  we  heard" — and  snapped 
her  mouth  shut,  and  reddened.  She  had  not  meant 
to  remind  me  of  Cattaro. 

I  waited,  smiling. 

"Yes,  I  have  heard  that  some  Count  or  other 
was  trying  to  meet  me.  Married?" 

"Oh,  yes." 

''Faugh!  I  have  grown  sick  of  married  men! 
Let  them  go  to  their  own  nests !" 

'The  Count  is  an  old  and  good  friend  of  both 
Harry  and  myself.  You  must  allow  us  to  present 
him,  Signorina." 

"Very  well — but  I'll  have  none  of  him!" 

"That  is  not  nominated  in  the  bond,"  I  answered 
laughing.  "Besides  yours  is  not  the  only  conquest 
tonight.  I  saw  you  worshipping  Harry  out  there." 

"Certainly!  Did  not  everybody?  He  deserved 
it.  When  are  you  coming  to  see  me?  And  why 
have  you  waited  so  long?" 

But  I  did  not  have  to  answer,  for  at  this  junc- 
ture Harry  came  up  with  the  Count  and  presented 
him.  I  found  time  to  wring  Harry's  paw  and  to 
repeat  some  of  the  things  I  had  heard  said  that 
evening  round  about  me,  before  Lubitza  and  the 
Count  turned  to  us. 

"By  the  bye,  Signorina,  where  is  Herr  Ober- 
Leutnant  Overmann?"  asked  Harry. 

"In  Trebinje.  He  is  to  be  here  Wednesday  and 
hear  me  in  'Barbiere.'  On  Thursday  evening  I  am 
going  to  have  a  dinner  in  my  apartments.  You  are 
232 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

all  invited.  There  will  be  more  gentlemen  than 
ladies.  Do  you  mind?" 

"You  are  enough  for  at  least  six,"  said  the 
Count. 

"Only  if  they  have  the  brains  of  one !" 

"That  is  more  than  the  average !  You  have  been 
used  to  good  company.  Thank  you,  Fraulein,  for 
your  invitation." 

''A  thousand  welcomes,  Herr  Graf.  I  shall  ex- 
pect you  all  by  nine  sharp.  Frau  Eisenauer-Baker 
does  not  like  to  be  kept  waiting  for  her  dinner." 

"Ah,  is  she  to  be  there?"  asked  the  Count.  "She 
is  enough  for  at  least  two." 

'There  will  be  enough  to  go  around,  then." 

In  an  aside  to  me: 

"He  is  fifty!" 

"No,  he  has  a  number  of  years  to  go  before  that, 
Signorina." 

His  sharp  ears  caught  my  words. 

"Quite  right,  Doctor.  And  reckoning  by  deeds 
you  are  older  than  I,  Fraulein  Tomaso!" 

"I  am  not  sure  about  that!" 

The  Count  elevated  shoulders  and  eyebrows. 

"You  see,  Herr  Graf,  your  reputation  has  pre- 
ceded you.  I  fear  my  maid  will  think  she  has 
missed  me  and  may  go  on  home.  Auf  wieder- 
sehen." 

The  Count  saw  her  to  her  carriage  and  I  waited 
while  Harry  had  his  accounting  with  the  manager. 
As  we  were  driving  to  his  house,  I  remarked: 

"Lubitza  was  hanging  on  the  tones  of  your  violin 
like  a  girl  on  the  words  of  her  lover!" 

"And  the  first  thing  she  asked  me  was  where 

you  were,  and  if  you  were  there  tonight.     Lubitza 

is  not  in  love  with  me,  Ed!     She  is  an  artist;  that 

is  her  whole  interest  in  me.      But  she  was  very 

233 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  os 

earnest  in  her  inquiry  for  you.  Why  don't  you 
let  the  old  bones  rest  and  go  in  and  have  a  circus 
with  her  ?  That  is  what  she  wants !" 

"I'll  turn  that  delicate  matter  over  to  the  Count 
— since  you  are  not  interested,"  I  replied. 


234 


CHAPTER  III 

WHEN  we  were  admitted  to  the  Tomaso's  ante- 
room on  Thursday  evening  we  found  that  all  of  the 
men  invited  had  arrived.  The  Ingenieur  was  not 
among  them,  but  I  presumed  he  was  somewhere 
in  the  house. 

Besides  the  Count,  Harry  and  I,  there  was  among 
others,  a  certain  Baron  Ascher,  one  of  the  gayest 
and  most  free  men-about-town  in  Vienna.  He  had 
divorced  two  wives  (or  maybe  they  had  him ;  I  do 
not  really  know), and  his  affairs,  shall  we  say  of  the 
heart,  were  notorious  and  gossiped  about  in  every 
circle.  Of  the  other  men  I  knew  little  or  nothing. 
They  were  Sectionschef  Raeder,  Herr  Abgeordnete 
Stein  (member  of  the  Lower  House),  an  attache 
to  the  Italian  Embassy,  and  a  Mr.  Mueller.  Of  the 
latter  I  had  heard  a  little.  He  had  recently  come 
into  a  large  estate.  The  Ingenieur,  if  he  were  here, 
would  make  the  ninth  man. 

They  were  all  gossiping  in  knots.  The  Count 
cornered  me  at  once  and  began  to  ask  again  the 
unanswered  questions  begun  at  the  concert,  with 
many  others.  The  Baron's  knot  gathered  Harry 
in.  It  did  seem  a  bad  case  on  the  part  of  the  Count 
and  I  was  sharply  put  to  it  to  avoid  a  pitfall.  I 
did  not  like  this  gossiping  about  the  hostess  in  her 
own  house,  Lubitza  though  it  was,  and  as  I  caught 
Harry's  expressive  eye  I  saw  he  was  of  my  opinion. 
However,  we  were  not  among  the  guests  originally 
invited,  but  "afterthoughts,"  and  it  was  not  for  us 
to  read  a  lecture  to  them. 

235 


The    Accursed    Qoccos 

"Who  is  Frau  Eisenauer-Baker  ?"  I  asked.  "You 
seemed  to  know  her  the  other  evening." 

"She  is  a  very  curious  character  here,  and  I  am 
surprised  you  do  not  know  about  her,  Doctor.  She 
was  once  the  mistress  of"  (and  here  he  whispered 
the  name  of  one  of  the  first  titled  men  of  the  Em- 
pire) "and  she  stil!  wears  his  diamonds.  She" 

"Ah— hh!     The  'Baronin  La'" 

"The  same,"  he  quickly  interrupted,  "but  don't 
dare  let  that  nick-name  slip  in  her  hearing!  She 
attends  confessional  now,  but  she  is  still  young 
enough  to  try  to  attract  men,  and  can  be  good  com- 
pany on  occasion.  She  is  very  rich.  Fraulein  Berg 
is  also  coming  tonight — the  dancer,  you  know.  I 
suppose  the  Tomaso  asked  her  to  please  Ascher. 
He  has  been  seen  with  her  a  little  lately,  but  I  don't 
believe  there  is  anything  in  that — at  least  not  yet. 
Ascher  has" 

"Do  you  mean  the  premiere  at  the  Royal 
Opera?" 

"Yes-" 

''Forgive  my  interruption.  What  were  you  about 

to  say  about  Baron  Ascher?" 

''Only  that  he  has  been  losing  heavily  at  the  club 
lately  and  I  suspect  that  his  funds  for  this  sort  of 
thing  are  beginning  to  run  low." 

"So  much  the  better  if  all  I  have  heard  about 
him  be  true !" 

"Oh,  I  know  worse  fellows  than  Ascher,  Doc- 
tor." 

"Pardon.  And  Fraulein  Berg?  Is  she  pretty 
off  the  stage?" 

"That  is  a  matter  of  taste.  She  is  a  little  spit- 
fire! One  Sunday  afternoon  a  lot  of  us  were  out 
at  Heiligen  Kreuz  and  a  certain" 

We  were  all  interrupted  and  brought  onto  our 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

feet  by  a  gay  laugh.  Lubitza  stood  between  the 
portieres. 

"Gossiping  just  like  a  lot  of  women !  Stop  your 
scandal  mongering  and  come  into  dinner  1" 

"We  were  talking  about  the  best  thing  of  the 
year !"  asserted  the  attache. 

"What  is  that?" 

"You." 

She  seized  him  by  the  ear  and  led  him  into  the 
room,  and  the  rest  gayly  followed.  The  two  other 
women  and  the  Ingenieur  had  already  come  in. 

"Who  are  not  acquainted?"  asked  Lubitza. 

''Herr  Doktor,  Frau  Eisenauer- Baker  and  Frau- 
lein  Berg.  Ladies,  our  new  violinist." 

The  Ingenieur  came  up  and  shook  hands  cor- 
dially with  Harry  and  me. 

''Fraulein  Tomaso,  please  have  the  goodness  to 
introduce  me  to  Frau  Eisenauer,"  begged  the 
Baron  with  mock  gravity. 

"Yes,  Fraulein,  the  Herr  Baron  is  a  new-comer 
and  doesn't  know  Vienna!"  explained  the  lady  in 
question,  in  high  sarcasm. 

"I  have  seen  him  before,"  remarked  Fraulein 
Berg.  "He  always  has  a  front  seat  at  the  opera — 
and  opera  glasses !  His  poor  eyesight  always  dis- 
tresses us!" 

"He  was  born  with  the  defect,"  remarked  the 
attache. 

"Come!  Take  your  places,  or  Frau  Eisenauer 
will  leave  nothing  for  us,"  called  Lubitza. 

"I  shall  not  eat  any  of  the  men !"  responded  that 
lady. 

Lubitza  took  the  head  of  the  table  with  the  Abge- 

ordnete  on  her  right  and  the  Ingenieur  on  her  left. 

Frau   Eisenauer  was   already  seated  at  the   foot. 

The   Sectionschef   was   given   her   right,   and   the 

237 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

Baron  her  left.  Mueller  and  the  attache  sat  on 
either  side  of  me,  and  the  dancer  with  the  Count 
and  Harry,  opposite.  Fraulein  Berg  could  not  be 
called  pretty  but  had  the  finest  figure  I  had  ever 
seen — displayed  at  least.  She  had  a  bright  face, 
but  looked  more  Polish  than  Austrian.  Before 
taking  her  seat  she  placed  her  foot  upon  the  table 
edge  and  proceeded  to  tie  her  shoe.  Ascher  and 
the  Abgeordnete  rushed  madly  to  her  aid.  Frau 
Eisenauer  rapped  upon  the  table. 

"None  of  that!  I  won't  have  it!  I  shall  hold 
you  young  people  in  due  bounds." 

All  screamed  in  derision.     Ascher  said: 

"Oh,  I  say,  gnadige  Frau,  do  you  remember  that 
evening  in  the  Sacher  some  fifteen  years  ago 
when" — (she  put  her  fingers  in  her  ears.  He  bent 
closer  to  her  and  screamed) — "when  there  was  a 
bet  that  a  woman  couldn't  stand  on  her  head, 
and" 

Really  enraged  she  jumped  up,  pushed  the 
Baron  into  his  chair  and  boxed  both  of  his  ears 
until  they  were  red.  She  was  a  big  woman  and  I 
thought  to  myself  that  I  would  as  lief  not  have 
those  boxes. 

''Just  my  luck — always !"  said  Ascher,  as  he  rue- 
fully felt  his  ears. 

'Til  have  you  all  know  that  there  never  was  a 
word  of  truth  in  that  yarn,  anyway!" 

"We  are  obliged  to  believe  you,  Gnadige," 

murmured  the  attache,  as  he  edged  away  a  little. 

"Pshaw!  I  do  it  every  day!"  asserted  Fraulein 
Berg. 

"At  what  hour?"  begged  Ascher. 

The  servants  had  already  presented  our  first 
course,  and  the  butler  had  filled  our  glasses. 

"Come — let's  begin,"  said  Lubitza. 
238 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

The  Count  rose. 

"A  health  to  our  hostess !" 

All  rose,  glasses  in  hand. 

"This  won't  do — these  glasses  are  too  small  for 
that  toast,"  objected  the  Sectionschef. 

"Let  us  drink  it  in  tumblers." 

"Or  from  the  bottle,"  suggested  the  attache. 

"Her  shoe!"  called  out  Miiller. 

''Shoe!    Shoe!"  rang  out  all  around. 

"Bah !    Holds  too  little !"  insisted  the  attache. 

But  he  was  drowned  in  the  gay  clamor.  Lubitza 
laughingly  produced  her  shoe,  a  bright  little  high- 
heeled  patent  leather  affair.  The  Count  took  it 
from  her,  pulled  out  an  eye-glass  and  gravely  tried 
to  see  it. 

"I  told  you  it  wouldn't  hold  a  drink,"  said  the 
attache. 

"How  did  you  know?"  asked  Frau  Eisenauer. 

"Gentlemen — a  wager!"  called  out  the  Baron. 
"We  will  wager  how  much  the  shoe  holds  and  he 
who  guesses  most  shall  lose !" 

"How  much?"  asked  the  Ingenieur. 

"We  will  make  it  this  way.  Every  guess  must 
be  reasonable.  We  will  not  accept  one  absurdly 
small.  Who  wins,  shall  demand  from  our  hostess 
the  greatest  favor  which  a  lady  can  grant  in  com- 
pany" ("Hoch !— Hoch !")— "a  kiss  on  her  lips." 
("Ah — h !")  ''And  who  loses,  shall  be  condemned 
to  drink  a  large  tumbler-full  of  the  last  wine  or 
liqueur  used  at  this  table.  Are  you  agreed  ?" 

''Agreed ! — Agreed !" 

"Do  you,  Gnadiges  Fraulein,  consent  to  recom- 
pense the  fortunate  winner?" 

"Oh, — yes,"  she  laughed. 

"Very  well.  Vorwaerts !  Count,  you  have  the 
239 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

shoe.  Begin !  I  know  you  will  do  your  best,  for 
once !" 

The  Count  gravely  re-inspected  the  shoe  yet 
again.  At  last  he  said: 

"I'll  wager  that  all  over  one  hundred  and  forty 
grams  will  run  out  at  the  lacing.  I  understand 
that  the  shoe  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  table  when 
filled." 

"Very  well! — Doctor,  we  shall  depend  upon  you 
to  show  us  in  a  glass  how  much  each  bet  is.  Franz, 
get  the  Doctor  a  paper  and  pencil  so  he  can  write 
down  the  bets.  Next !" 

The  wager  went  around  the  table,  each  making 
his  bet  and  witticism.  By  the  time  the  shoe  came 
to  me,  some  time  had  elapsed,  and  forgetful  for  the 
moment  of  the  terms  of  the  wager,  I  took  a  careful 
look  at  Lubitza  and  called  out: 

"About  sixty-five  kilograms !" 

There  was  a  moment's  wondering  silence,  and 
then  the  laugh  came;  but  the  sorry  witticism  was 
to  be  my  undoing,  as  the  event  proved. 

"Wrong!"  said  the  Baron.  "Two  shoes  hold 
that  pretty  burden.  You  should  have  halved  it, 
Herr  Doktor." 

"It  is  clear  that  the  Herr  Doktor  loves  liqueurs," 
grimly  remarked  the  Sectionschef. 

I  could  only  be  philosophical  about  it  and  say  to 
myself  that  I  would  rather  drink  a  tumbler  of 
Benedictine  any  day  than  to  have  to  kiss  Lubitza 
on  the  lips,  especially  after  my  eyes  had  been-  so 
thoroughly  opened  this  evening.  But  of  course  if 
I  had  not  lost  my  head  I  would  have  tried  to  avoid 
it  in  some  other  way. 

After  the  little  shoe  had  gone  the  rounds,  I  care- 
fully estimated  the  amount  it  "would  hold"  by  fill- 
ing it  with  rice  brought  from  the  kitchen,  and  then 
240 


turning  this  into  a  glass.  The  winner  was  declared 
to  be  Harry.  Lubitza  rose,  went  to  him,  put  her 
arms  round  about  his  neck  and  kissed  him  on  the 
lips  with  a  resounding  smack. 

Fraulein  Berg  followed  it  with  another. 

"Oh,"  said  Frau  Eisenauer,  "if  I  were  only  a 
younger  woman!" 

"It  was  the  Stradivarius  that  has  done  this  thing 
for  you,  Signer  McClellan,"  said  the  attache.  "See 
how  you  are  beholden  to  a  son  of  sunny  Italy!" 

"And  now,  gentlemen,  I  refuse  to  have  my  shoe 
spoiled !"  Lubitza  captured  her  shoe  after  a 
scuffle,  and  slipped  it  on. 

The  butler  filled  the  glasses,  and  the  Count  gave 
a  very  pretty  and  flattering  toast,  something  about 
"the  sweet  bird  who  sings  all  our  cares  away,"  and 
the  toast  was  drunk. 

The  fish  course  was  brought  in  and  for  some 
time  the  conversation  resolved  itself  into  groups. 
During  this  time  I  constantly  found  myself  watch- 
ing Lubitza.  She  attracted  me  still  less  this  even- 
ing since  I  had  come  to  see  something  of  her  life 
behind  the  scenes  and  learn  the  sort  of  company 
she  received,  but  she  dominated  my  attention,  as 
a  new  thing  is  ever  apt  to  do.  I  found  myself 
wondering  what  Ingenieur  Overmann  thought  of  it 
all.  Did  he  still  intend  to  marry  her?  I  scarcely 
believed  so,  and  yet — one  can  never  tell.  The 
woman  of  the  stage,  good  or  bad,  has  an  undenia- 
ble fascination  for  us  all, — possibly  because  she  is 
always  an  up-to-date  bundle  of  cleverness,  and 
knows  exactly  how  to  manage  us. 

After  awhile  Lubitza  caught  me  observing  her 
and  smiled.  She  whispered  to  the  Ingenieur.  He 
rose  smilingly  and  came  to  my  chair. 

"The  orders  are  to  change  posts,"  he  said. 
241 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

I  condoled  with  him  and  seated  myself  at  Lu- 
bitza's  left- 
Mueller  now  sat  at  my  left,  and  I  observed  the 
rich  young  idler  with  some  interest.  I  had  heard 
a  rumor  that  winnings  from  him  had  kept  Ascher 
in  extra  funds  for  a  long  time  past.  I  wondered  if 
the  tables  had  turned.  Lubitza,  however,  early 
claimed  my  attention. 

"Doctor  Lembach  was  to  come  tonight  but  it  is 
just  as  well  that  he  did  not.  He  would  have  made 
thirteen !" 

"Who  is  Doctor  Lembach?" 

"An  advocate — Fraulein  Berg's  latest  adorer," 
she  whispered. 

"Why,  I  thought  Ascher" 

"Pah!" 

"Don't  you  like  him,  then?" 

"Like  him!  Because  he  is  here?  My  dear  Doc- 
tor !  These  are  the  people  who  give  an  artist  pres- 
tige. Voila  tout !" 

After  she  had  answered  a  sally  from  Harry,  she 
asked :  "Do  I  seem  the  same  to  you  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  Signorina,  only,  of  course,  grown  great 
now — and  still  more  beautiful." 

She  jovially  pinched  my  arm  and  turned  to  the 
Abgeordnete.  The  meat  course  was  being  laid  and 
I  took  the  opportunity  to  talk  to  Mueller  a  moment, 
but  he  did  not  seem  much  inclined  for  conversation, 
and  my  attention  wandered  to  Lubitza  once  more. 
She  was  speaking  with  the  Abgeordnete  in  Servian. 
Frau  Eisenauer  was  relating  some  scandal  or  other 
and  had  the  undivided  expectant  attention  of  all 
at  her  end  of  the  table.  The  Count  and  Fraulein 
Berg  had  their  heads  together.  I  heard  my  name 
mentioned  by  the  Abgeordnete  and  involuntarily 
turned.  His  and  Lubitza's  eyes  were  upon  me. 
242 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Both  laughed.  The  Abgeordnete  said  in  his  heavy 
way: 

"Herr  Doktor,  a  thousand  pardons  for  convers- 
ing about  you,  but  Fraulein  Tomaso  has  but  now 
related  a  most  unbelievable  thing.  I  have  just  ac- 
cused her  of  having  a  brand  new  love  affair — 
namely,  with  you.  With  what  sort  of  an  answer 
do  you  suppose  she  has  insulted  my  intelligence?" 

"I  couldn't  guess  in  a  year!     What  was  it?" 

"Just  listen !  She  admits  that  she  is  in  love  with 
you,  but  seriously  asserts  that  you  will  have  none 
of  her!  Now  you  can  understand  my  deep  indig- 
nation— my  very  rage !  Am  I  a  young  boy,  then, 
to  be  told  such  a  thing?" 

"Your  anger  is  justified,  Herr  Abgeordnete! 
Were  she  a  man  I  should  offer  you  my  services. 
Has  she  had  so  many  love  affairs,  then?" 

"Oh,  ye  Olympian  Jove!  The  first  /  heard  of 
was" 

I  never  knew  what  the  yarn  was  to  be  for  a  tre- 
mendous roar  of  laughter  at  the  other  end  of  the 
table  united  the  company  once  more. 

"What  is  it?"  called  out  Mueller. 

"Something  not  fit  to  be  repeated,  of  course!" 
said  the  Count. 

"As  hostess,"  called  Lubitza,  "  and  therefore 
your  Belfehlshaberin,  I  order  Frau  Eisenauer  to 
repeat  the  tale  for  us  all !" 

"Holy  Saints  protect  us,"  laughed  the  Baron. 
"I  dare  her  to!" 

Nothing  loth  she  began.  I  had  been  obliged  to 
drink  too  much  wine  during  the  dinner,  and  not 
being  used  to  it,  my  head  was  already  light  and 
the  chatter  seemed  detached  from  me,  but  yet  ab- 
normally clear  as  to  the  mere  words  spoken,  while 
at  the  same  time  I  was  conscious  of  an  effort  to 
243 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

understand  their  meaning.  I  could  only  just  make 
out  that  the  story  was  about  some  well-known  ac- 
tress, her  bath  in  ten  magnums  of  champagne  fur- 
nished by  as  many  men,  the  replacing  of  the 
champagne  in  the  bottles  on  the  table,  and  the 
healths  drunk  therefrom.  The  nub  of  the  story  I 
utterly  lost.  Lubitza  looked  disgusted,  but  the  rest 
were  full  of  mirth. 

"My  German  failed  me  at  the  pinch,"  I  re- 
marked to  her. 

"Is  is  just  as  well,  Herr  Doktor.  I  love  a  good 
story  and  even  a  scandal,  but  I  detest  actual  coarse- 
ness !" 

I  was  glad  to  see  the  last  dishes  come  in.  The 
ices  were  a  relief  to  a  tolerably  parched  tongue. 
Lubitza  selected  a  cigarette. 

"I  seldom  smoke.  I  must  not  risk  my  throat, 
but  I  am  fond  of  one  occasionally.  Have  you 
fire?" 

"I'll  obtain  it" — and  I  half  rose  to  seek  a  match. 

There  was  again  a  roar  of  laughter  at  my  ex- 
pense. 

"Oh  yes!  He'll  obtain  fire!"  screamed  Fraulein 
Berg  in  delight. 

"Light  it  on  Fraulein  Berg!  Just  put  it  against 
her; — anywhere!"  called  the  Count. 

Lubitza  shook  her  finger  at  the  Count.  He  blew 
a  kiss.  She  blew  it  on  down  the  table. 

"Faugh!  Don't  blow  that  down  this  way!"  ob- 
jected the  attache. 

I  could  only  grin  fatuously.  Their  smiling,  quiz- 
zical faces  were  all  turned  on  me  now.  The  Baron 
said: 

"The  Curaqoa  is  here.  Now  comes  the  time  for 
the  Herr  Doktor  to  pay  his  lost  wager.  Where  is 
the  tumbler?" 

244 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

The  butler  had  left  the  room,  so  all  except 
Harry,  the  Count  and  the  Ingenieur  tumbled  out 
of  their  chairs  in  search  of  a  glass. 

The  Ingenieur  came  over  to  me. 

"Can  you  stand  it?  If  not,  I'll  propose  an  easier 
substitute." 

"No.  I've  lost  and  I  won't  squeal!  I'll  pay  the 
bet." 

Lubitza  reached  for  the  decanter,  which  had 
been  two-thirds  emptied,  and  filled  it  up  from  a 
carafa  of  water. 

"That  will  make  it  better,  anyhow,"  she  re- 
marked. 

By  this  time  the  others  returned  with  an  ordi- 
nary drinking  glass  and  placed  it  before  me. 

"Now,  Herr  Doktor!" 

Lubitza  filled  it  with  the  diluted  liqueur.  I  stood 
up  unsteadily. 

"To  the — h-handsomest  woman  in — Vienna!" 
And  I  drank  the  contents.  There  was  a  round  of 
applause,  and  the  Baron  shook  my  hand.  The 
company  adjourned  to  the  drawing  room.  Harry 
took  my  arm  and  at  my  request  seated  me  near  the 
door. 

"As  soon  as  you  can  slip  away,  Ed,  get  a  little 
fresh  air  and  come  back  later.  If  you  are  missed 
I'll  take  care  of  your  apology." 

Two  of  him  were  saying  it.  The  carpets  of 
the  drawing-room  were  rolled  up  and  Frau  Eise- 
nauer  seated  herself  at  a  grand  piano,  striking  up 
a  waltz.  Lubitza  with  Harry,  and  Ascher  with 
Fraulein  Berg  were  soon  dancing.  The  Count  and 
the  Ingenieur  made  a  grotesque  third  couple.  The 
others  were  gossiping  in  a  corner. 

I  stole  out  into  the  dining-room  intending  not  so 
much  to  get  air  as  to  do  as  the  old  Romans  used 
245 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

to  do.  I  got  across  the  dining-room  and  from  there 
looked  back  through  the  drawing-room  door.  Harry 
and  Lubitza  were  high  in  the  air  dancing  on  noth-« 
ing,  sometimes  head  upward,  sometimes  head  down- 
ward, each  having  two  heads  and  four  feet  in  inex- 
tricable confusion,  mixed  up  with  several  Aschers, 
Fraulein  Bergs  and  Ingenieurs,  and  the  room  itself 
was  moving  like  a  gyroscope.  The  floor  of  the 
dining-room  softly  moved  up  and  supported  my 
back,  and  I  was  happy  and  comfortable.  I  was 
dimly  conscious  of  the  butlers  coming  in  and  clos- 
ing the  drawing-room  door.  They  said,  "Come, 
Herr  Doktor,  I'll  help  you."  They  took  me  out  into 
the  hallway,  and  after  that  I  do  not  know  what 
passed  until  I  found  myself  lying  on  a  couch  in  a 
retired  room,  being  served  with  cup  after  cup  of 
black  coffee  and  now  feeling  more  myself,  but  still 
very  drunk. 

"Feeling  better,  Herr  Doktor?"    There  was  only 
one  of  him  now. 

"Yes,  thank  you.  I  think  I  will  do  soon." 
"Lie  still,  Herr  Doktor.  I'll  return  later." 
He  left  the  room.  I  do  not  know  if  he  came  back. 
At  last  I  rose,  opened  a  window  and  stood  in  the 
fresh  cold  air  awhile.  This  window  opened  upon  a 
court.  The  whirling  in  my  head  began  to  abate  and 
I  began  to  feel  more  settled  otherwise.  The  room 
I  was  in  seemed  to  be  a  spare  bed-room.  It  occurred 
to  me  that  I  might  leave  quietly  and  they  would  not 
miss  me,  or  care,  if  they  did.  With  this  idea  in 
mind  I  closed  the  window  and  made  my  way  to  a 
door.  There  were  two  in  the  room,  and  I  did  not 
remember  which  gave  into  the  hallway.  The  one  I 
happened  to  select  led  into  a  bright  white  room  full 
of  feminine  necessaries  and  trifles,  made  evident  by 
246 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

a  low-turned  gas  jet.  In  a  moment  I  saw  that  this 
must  be  Lubitza's  boudoir. 

Thinking  to  get  my  general  directions  before  I 
tried  for  the  ante-room,  I  crossed  to  a  window  and 
pulled  up  the  blind.  I  recognized  the  street  corner 
and  dropped  the  blind  again.  I  would  need  to  turn 
to  the  right  when  once  in  the  hallway. 

As  I  turned  to  go  back  I  collided  with  the  corner 
of  a  writing  desk,  and  as  I  felt  for  the  stricken 
place  I  cast  an  idle  glance  upon  the  desk.  A  letter, 
just  begun  with  a  half  dozen  lines,  lay  there.  In- 
stantly recognizing  the  script  my  heart  went  into 
my  throat.  I  hastily  turned  up  the  gas  and  exam- 
ined the  letter  without  picking  it  up.  It  was  in 
Italian  and  contained  only  beginning  references  to 
commonplace  matters  but  the  hand-writing  chained 
my  eye.  What  did  it  mean?  This  was  Gisela's 
lovely  script!  Was  she  here  then? 

My  head  was  still  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  state 
though  the  whirling  was  less.  The  sight  of  the 
script  steadied  me  still  more  but  not  enough  to 
reason  the  matter  out  satisfactorily.  I  could  not 
quite  connect  cause  and  effect,  precedent  and  se- 
quence. I  did  get  far  enough  to  give  a  superficial 
survey  to  the  rest  of  the  room  trying  to  establish 
the  identity  of  the  owner,  utterly  without  success. 
I  knew  too  little  of  Gisela's  and  Lubitza's  personal 
belongings. 

Furthermore,  a  disquieting  consciousness  had 
come  to  me  in  this  moment.  I  had  fondly  imagined 
that  I  had  put  Gisela  forever  out  of  my  mind,  and 
had  more  than  once  congratulated  myself  that  I 
could  meet  her,  now,  without  a  pang,  or  a  flutter. 
This  moment  taught  me  how  idle  and  fatuous  an 
idea  that  was.  It  had  needed  nothing  more  than  this 
chance  sight  of  her  handwriting  to  cause  a  return  in 
247 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

almost  full  intensity  of  that  trying  moment,  when 
on  returning  from  Cattaro  I  had  found  the  vio- 
lin in  its  package  in  my  rooms,  nearly  two  years  be- 
fore. And  here  she  was  now,  in  Vienna ;  she  must 
be  here,  of  course !  It  was  a  fresh  letter,  only  be- 
gun that  evening !  The  ink  had  not  yet  fully  black- 
ened !  She  was  here !  And  in  this  company !  What 
had  happened  ?  Could  I  be  still  enough  intoxicated 
to  be  mistaken? 

I  considered  taking  the  letter  and  comparing  it, 
later,  with  the  one  missive  I  had  ever  received  from 
Gisela,  but  realized  that  it  would  not  do.  She 
would  miss  the  letter,  would  learn  from  the  butler 
that  I  had  been  in  the  next  room,  and  would  gather 
that  I  had  been  in  here.  It  was  not  to  be  thought 
of. 

The  perplexity  had  the  effect  of  still  farther 
clearing  up  the  fogging  of  my  brain.  My  mind 
went  back  to  that  unlucky  summer ;  to  the  ball  and 
our  quarrel ;  to  the  cathedral ;  and  to  her  last  words 
there,  and  finally  to  the  very  last  words  I  had  heard 
from  her  mouth. 

"Falser  than  the  very  Shades  themselves.  I 
would  not  see  your  false,  hypocritical  face  more ! 
Go !  Go  to  my  cousin !  You  were  made  for  one 
another,  and  it  would  be  a  sin  to  keep  you  apart !" 

I  straightened  up  and  took  a  firm  grip  on  my 
will.  I  turned  my  back  on  the  desk,  turned  the  gas 
half  down  again,  and  left  the  boudoir. 

For  one  little  moment  before  closing  the  door,  I 
gazed  back  at  the  desk. 

"That  is  her  hand-writing!  She  is  here!  In 
Vienna,  and  in  this  company!  Now,  no  more 
opera,  no  more  night  dinners  for  me !  Now  for 
sticking  to  my  work; — where  I'll  never  meet  her!" 

I  successfully  sought  the  ante-room  without  meet- 
248 


The    A  c  c  u  r  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ing  a  soul.  I  could  hear  the  ring  of  riotous  laugh- 
ter from  the  drawing-room.  They  were  still  go- 
ing it  in  there.  I  looked  at  my  watch — it  was  a 
quarter  past  four.  My  overcoat  was  soon  on,  and 
in  a  couple  of  minutes  I  was  at  the  house-door 
ringing  for  the  haus-meister  to  let  me  out,  and  my 
bed  saw  me  very  soon  afterwards. 


249 


CHAPTER  IV 

IT  was  many  months  before  I  saw  Lubitza  or 
any  of  her  guests  again  although  she  and  I  ex- 
changed messages,  once  or  twice,  through  Harry. 
The  latter  and  I  spent  that  summer  in  Germany, 
and  then  I  parted  with  him,  as  he  was  booked  for  a 
concert  tour  in  the  north,  and  we  could  be  together 
no  longer.  I  could  only  look  forward  to  the  Febru- 
ary following  when  he  had  dates  for  two  appear- 
ances in  Vienna.  As  for  myself,  I  was  attending 
very  faithfully  to  my  work  as  I  was  intending  to 
make  this  year  my  last  in  Austria,  and  later  com- 
plete my  preparation  in  the  broader  field  at  Ber- 
lin. As  the  busy  months  flew  by,  the  veil  became 
once  more  drawn  over  my  memory  of  Gisela,  and 
I  meant  that  it  should  remain  so  this  time. 

One  night,  late  in  December,  the  chief  of  our 
surgical  staff  requested  me  to  take  personal  charge 
of  a  critical  case  out  in  Cottage,  and  I  made  my 
way  out  there  at  once.  For  conscientious  reasons 
I  took  the  night  watch  in  person,  arranging  to  sleep 
at  the  house  in  the  morning, — with  a  view  of  insur- 
ing proper  attention  during  the  night  hours  when 
one  having  less  responsibility  might  have  risked  a 
nap  or  two. 

Christmas  eve  found  our  patient  but  little  im- 
proved, so  that  evening  found  me  at  the  bedside. 
About  half  past  eleven  our  patient  was  sleeping,  so 
I  left  her  in  charge  of  the  two  nurses  and  went  into 
a  front  room  which  had  been  allotted  to  me. 

The  night  was  bitterly  cold,  and  the  room  poorly 
heated,  so  I  donned  my  overcoat  and  hat,  pulled 
250 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  bliimo  and  covers  from  the  bed,  nested  these 
about  my  feet  and  knees  and  sat  down  to  try  to 
read. 

Here  in  this  suburb  all  was  very  still  and  I  heard 
few  sounds  save  the  crunching  of  snow  under  the 
feet  of  some  belated  home  seeker  and  an  occa- 
sional voice.  None  of  these  casual  sounds  attract- 
ed my  notice  until  some  time  past  one  when  I  sud- 
denly found  myself  sitting  up  straight,  intently  lis- 
tening to  two  approaching  voices. 

Once  again  I  experienced  that  trying  sensation  as 
of  a  leaden  lump  of  something  or  another  trying 
to  come  out  by  my  throat.  If  that  were  not  Gisela's 
voice,  it  was  strangely  like  it ! 

I  rose  hastily,  turned  the  light  very  low,  went  to 
the  window  and  opened  it.  A  very  narrow  space 
of  lawn  lay  between  me  and  the  street  and  I  was  in 
the  second  floor  of  the  villa,  but  the  distance  was 
short  and  a  street  lamp  spread  a  circle  of  light  over 
the  snow  hardly  a  dozen  yards  away  and  a  window 
of  our  own  ground  floor  was  alight.  The  couple 
came  along  muffled  up  in  wraps  and  conversing 
earnestly.  They  were  two  women.  One  was  cer- 
tainly too  large  to  be  Gisela  and  my  eyes  fastened 
upon  the  other  one.  They  stopped  a  little  on  my 
side  of  the  street  lamp  and  I  could  hear  pretty  well 
most  they  said. 

"So  he  won't  pay  for  your  rooms  after  the  first?" 
questioned  the  large  woman. 

"Yes,  he  would,  I  think,  but  I  will  no  longer  take 
the  money — from  him." 

"Don't  you  know  anybody  else  you  can  go  to  ?" 

"Not  one." 

As  she  answered  the  smaller  woman  raised  her 
head.  It  was  muffled  up  about  the  sides  and  chin 
251 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

but  her  eyes  were  revealed  by  the  light  from  our 
own  window. 

It  was  Gisela.  Not  a  doubt  of  it !  There  could 
be  no  second  such  pair  of  eyes  in  the  world.  Who- 
ever has  tried  to  identify  a  person  merely  by  the 
eyes  has  found  that  these  must  be  very  much  indi- 
vidualized if  he  succeed;  but  I  was  in  no  doubt 
here. 

Of  course  I  was  not  surprised  to  come  across  her 
in  Vienna  at  last,  for  the  letter  on  the  desk  in  Lu- 
bitza's  apartments  had  enabled  me  to  conclude  her 
presence  here.  I  had  only  wondered,  at  times,  at 
the  fact  that  the  encounter  had  been  so  long  de- 
layed. Nor  did  the  seeming  revelation  of  this  con- 
versation surprise  me  greatly.  In  Lubitza's  milieu, 
what  more  natural  then  that  she  should  have  a  man 
"friend!"  In  that  milieu,  beautiful  girl  that  she 
was,  and  in  Vienna,  without  proper  protectors  and 
without  an  admonitive  education  in  matters  of  the 
world,  it  was  her  natural  fate, — along  with  thou- 
sands of  other  ones  of  like  destiny  in  the  city.  But 
what  was  she  doing  away  out  here  in  the  Wahringer 
Cottage?  I  had  supposed  that  she  was  living  with 
Lubitza,  and  on  various  grounds  had  elected  not  to 
be  present  at  the  dinner  that  night.  Of  course  her 
residence  in  the  suburb  explained  the  chance  that 
I  had  not  met  with  her  before. 

And  why  was  she  in  need  of  money?  Had  she 
finally  lost  her  estate  then?  I  knew  she  must  be, 
now,  not  far  from  the  day  of  her  legal  majority 
but  I  did  not  remember  to  have  heard  the  date  men- 
tioned and  could  not  guess  whether  the  day  had 
passed  or  not.  And  what  did  this  late  hour  mean? 
Probably  the  opera. 

These  thoughts  flew  through  my  mind  as  one, 
and  kept  in  the  background  for  the  moment  that 
252 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

wearying  gray  sadness  which  I  knew  would  ensue 
after  she  would  go  out  of  my  sight. 

There  were  some  further  words  which  I  did  not 
catch.  Then  the  larger  woman  put  her  arm  around 
Gisela's  shoulder. 

"Never  mind,  Gizachen !  You  can  come  and  live 
with  me  until  I  go  back  to  Moscow.  Perhaps  bet- 
ter luck  will  come  to  you  by  then." 

"Oh,  Cecilie,  you  cannot  afford  it !" 

"Nonsense.  I'll  sell  my  rings  and  we'll  have 
enough  for  two." 

"I'll  not  allow  it,  Cecilie!" 

"Bah!  Of  what  use  are  they  to  me?  I  was  go- 
ing to,  anyway.  Come,  Gisa,  dear,  let  us  get  home." 

The  two  walked  on,  up  the  street,  affectionately, 
arm  in  arm.  I  could  not  watch  them  far,  as  a  high 
snow  laden  hedge  intervened,  moreover,  I  was  shiv- 
ering with  the  cold.  I  closed  the  window. 

Should  I  follow  them  and  see  where  they  lived? 
Of  what  use ! 

But  the  temptation  assailed  me  with  insistency — 
with  a  singular  insistency  which  I  could  explain  in 
no  way.  It  was  as  though  some  ghostly  hand  had 
seized  upon  my  very  will  and  was  dragging  upon 
it  with  paralyzing  effect  upon  reason,  judgment 
and  even  my  very  wishes.  In  this  moment  I  real- 
ized that  I  still  loved  her,  as  deeply,  truly  and  un- 
changeably as  I  ever  had,  and  even  more;  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  it  was  not  that  alone  which  was 
beating  down  my  will  just  now;  I  was  hazily  con- 
scious of  a  more  powerful  influence  still  than  my 
love  for  her;  one  which  I  could  in  no  wise  define 
and  which  finally  compelled  me  to  give  way. 

I  glanced  cautiously  into  the  sick  room  and  saw 
that  my  patient  was  still  asleep  and  that  the  nurses 
were  at  their  posts.  I  beckoned  one  and  informed 
253 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

her  that  I  was  going  out  a  few  moments,  and  then 
went  downstairs  and  out  of  doors. 

The  two  figures  were  far  up  the  street.  I  saw 
them  turn  off  to  the  right.  I  could  not  go  far  from 
the  house  but  I  risked  a  rapid  run  to  the  corner. 
When  I  reached  it  they  had  disappeared — probably 
around  another  corner,  and  I  did  not  dare  pursue 
them  further. 

For  the  rest  of  that  night  I  walked  the  floor  try- 
ing to  think  out  my  way,  ay,  my  very  duty.  Only 
with  the  dawn  did  I  settle  the  hard  debate.  I  had 
tried  to  banish  her  from  my  life.  She  had  come 
back  into  it  again,  and  this  fact  was  not  to  be  set 
aside  by  a  mere  act  of  will,  and  my  will  seemed 
powerless  to  try.  What  was  this  hidden  thing  that 
was  driving  me  so  irresistibly?  Was  it  because  I 
had  seen  her  eyes?  No,  for  it  was  very  significant 
that  I  had  listened  to  her  voice  long  before  I  could 
have  recognized  it,  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

Well,  she  was  here,  in  the  same  city,  without  a 
friend  save  her  companion  that  evening,  in  trouble, 
and  in  want.  Kismet ! 


254 


CHAPTER  V 

As  I  had  night  duty  and  must  use  the  mornings 
for  needed  sleep,  and  besides  as  some  part  of  the 
afternoons  was  taken  up  with  work  at  the  hospital, 
I  did  not  have  much  time  for  outside  matters.  How- 
ever as  the  nature  of  the  task  excluded  much  per- 
sonal endeavor  there  proved  to  be  enough  spare 
hours  for  it.  For  I  still  resolved  not  to  have  any 
painful  meeting  with  Gisela  in  person  if  possible, 
and  would  act  anonymously. 

My  first  step  was  to  dispatch  a  letter  to  the 
banker,  Signor  Sbutega,  in  order  to  get  as  much  as 
possible  in  touch  with  her  affairs  from  that  end,  and 
in  the  course  of  a  week  I  had  his  answer. 

It  was  a  surprise.  He  informed  me  that  the  Sig- 
norina  Gisela  was  not  in  Cattaro.  She  had  left 
there  two  months  before,  presumably  not  to  return, 
as  they  had  learned  that  she  had  taken  all  her  be- 
longings with  her  in  several  large  trunks.  He  was 
sorry  he  could  give  me  no  further  news,  as  owing 
to  strained  relations  he  could  not  approach  her  uncle 
or  Paulo  with  any  confidential  inquiry,  nor  was 
there  any  intermediate  person  whom  he  could  em- 
ploy. That  part  of  the  family  which  had  remained 
in  Cattaro  had  lived  continuously  in  great  seclusion, 
and  all  save  two  or  three  very  close  friends  had  been 
compelled  to  cease  calling  there.  No  one  in  Cattaro 
saw  any  of  them  often.  He  presumed  I  would  know 
that  Lubitza  had  left  home  more  than  two  years 
before,  as  she  was  now  a  noted  woman  and  was  at 
present  in  my  own  city.  With  many  kind  expres- 
sions and  begging  me  to  command  him  in  any  way 
255 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

he  could  be  of  service,  he  signed  his  letter  and  ap- 
pended a  very  cordial  personal  postscript  in  his  own 
hand. 

Two  months  before!  Now,  of  course,  the  bank- 
er's information  was  quite  inaccurate  in  this  par- 
ticular. I  knew  that  Gisela  had  come  to  Vienna 
nearly  eight  months  before — unless,  indeed,  she  had 
made  a  visit  before  finally  moving  here.  I  wrote 
the  banker  a  second  letter  with  many  apologies  and 
several  definite  inquiries. 

In  his  answer  he  insisted  that  Gisela  had  been 
continuously  in  Cattaro  up  to  two  months  before 
his  previous  writing.  He  knew  this  positively 
through  his  daughter  who  had  always  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  Gisela  and  who  had  seen  her 
there  at  regular  intervals  up  to  two  months  before 
the  date  of  his  former  letter.  The  Signorina  had 
made  no  visit  to  Vienna  previous  to  her  final  leav- 
ing for  there  at  the  time  of  which  he  spoke.  No, 
she  was  not  yet  of  legal  age.  He  could  not  give 
me  the  precise  date  but  was  certain  that  the  day 
had  not  yet  passed,  though  it  could  not  now  be  far 
away.  No,  she  had  not  left  with  a  companion — 
not  Cattaro,  at  least.  He  had  taken  pains  to  ascer- 
tain that  from  the  captain  of  the  boat  by  which  she 
had  left.  Teresa  was  still  with  the  family — his 
wife  had  seen  her  within  the  current  week.  Paulo 
was  in  Mula  and  was  employed  in  the  office  of  a 
newly  built  factory  there.  He  had  seen  Paulo  re- 
cently, though  not  to  speak  with  him.  Begging  my 
further  commands  he  again  subscribed  himself  with 
many  kind  expressions. 

By  the  time  this  second  letter  came  I  was  no 

longer  under  the  necessity  of  spending  my  nights 

in  Cottage.    The  letter  was  delivered  at  my  rooms 

early  one  Sunday  morning  and  I  found  it  waiting 

256 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

on  my  desk  after  I  had  dressed  and  was  about  to 
take  breakfast. 

Of  course  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that 
Signor  Sbutega  had  informed  me  correctly.  I  must 
assume,  then,  that  Gisela  had  left  Cattaro  only  two 
months,  or  ten  weeks,  before.  Whose,  then,  had 
been  that  letter  on  Lubitza's  desk?  I  debated  this 
for  a  good  half  hour  oblivious  of  a  cooling  break- 
fast, and  at  last  accepted  the  most  reasonable  con- 
clusion that  occurred  to  me.  I  had  been  very  drunk 
that  evening.  True,  I  had  partially  recovered  by 
the  time  I  had  seen  the  letter,  but  I  still  had  had  a 
swimming  head.  I  concluded  that  in  the  half  light 
of  a  temporarily  obscured  intelligence,  I  had  either 
been  the  victim  of  suggestion,  or  had  seen  some- 
thing that  had  not  existed.  And  thus  the  question 
was  shelved. 

And  so  Gisela  had  not  been  with  Lubitza  and  her 
companions.  But  who  had  been  paying  her  way? 
I  wondered  if  Lubitza  knew  she  was  here. 

My  next  step  was  to  visit  the  Austrian  attorney 
of  the  American  Consulate  in  Vienna  and  ascertain 
Gisela's  precise  legal  status  as  nearly  as  would  be 
allowed  by  the  facts  in  my  possession. 

He  could  not  be  positive  in  his  answer,  as  to 
prejudge  the  validity  of  a  will  required  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  instrument  itself  and  full  knowledge  of 
the  collateral  circumstances.  However,  he  believed 
that  in  general  a  testator  did  have  the  right  to  re- 
quire adhesion  on  the  part  of  the  legatee  to  the 
tenets  and  injunctions  of  a  Church  as  a  condition 
precedent  to  inheriting — especially  in  the  case  of  a 
minor.  This  would  be  especially  true  as  regards  im- 
moral behavior  or  living.  The  conditions  surround- 
ing a  particular  case  might  make  a  difference.  No, 
he  said,  the  Court  would  not  hold  the  mere  en- 
257 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

trance  to  the  inner  sanctuary  of  a  Greek  church 
as  a  breaking  of  the  terms  of  the  will.  He  did  not 
conceive  that  such  a  rule  of  the  Church  came  under 
the  meaning  of  the  will — it  would  not  have  been 
looked  upon  as  a  "cardinal"  rule.  If  we  did  not 
keep  the  word  "cardinal"  in  mind,  the  mere  fact 
that  the  legatee  had  affiliated  with  some  other 
church  than  that  of  the  testator  might  be  regarded 
as  disqualifying  her,  whether  she  were  responsible 
for  the  change  or  not.  Besides,  in  questions  of  mere 
doctrine  regulations  or  procedure,  the  church  of 
which  the  testator  had  been  a  member  would  gov- 
ern; not  the  one  which  had  been  adopted  by  the 
legatee.  But  the  rules  for  moral  and  dignified  liv- 
ing were  the  same  in  all  Christian  creeds  and  he 
believed  that  any  court  would  hold  that  this  was 
what  was  referred  to  by  the  clause  in  the  will. 

Yes,  possibly  if  I  could  prove  contributory  and 
purposeful  neglect  and  establish  a  connection  be- 
tween this  and  her  downfall,  he  believed  the  court 
would  uphold  her  on  all  points.  But  (he  warned 
me),  purposeful,  contributory  and  apposite  neglect 
would  all  have  to  be  proven,  beyond  a  reasonable 
doubt.  Such  a  suit  was  always  bitter,  and  very  un- 
certain in  its  result. 

Yes,  he  was  quite  sure,  under  this  hypothetical 
case,  that  if  the  legatee  were  to  marry  legally  be- 
fore her  majority  she  would  be  reinstated  in  her 
rights  as  a  legatee.  In  interpreting  such  an  instru- 
ment the  Court  always  lent  an  ear  to  the  evident 
intention  of  the  testator  rather  than  to  technicalities. 
In  this  case  the  intention  was  the  legatee  should  be 
occupying  a  respectable  position  in  life  at  the  time 
of  her  majority.  That  was  the  essence  of  the  whole 
clause,  he  considered,  and  he  believed  this  inter- 
pretation would  stand. 

258 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

No,  it  would  not  matter  whether  she  married  the 
person  with  whom  she  had  misconducted  herself 
or  some  other  one.  In  my  hypothetical  case  the  will 
did  not  dictate  that.  Such  a  construction  would, 
therefore,  constitute  a  very  material  addition  to  the 
will  and  the  Court  would  scarcely  venture  its  ad- 
mission. He  was  satisfied  that  a  mere  marriage — 
any  marriage  with  any  proper  person,  before  her 
majority,  would  operate  to  restore  her  rights. 

Yes,  the  marriage  of  a  minor  without  the  con- 
sent of  parents  or  guardians,  is  voidable  by  such 
parents  or  guardians,  at  their  option.  No,  such  a 
marriage  remains  legal  if  no  steps  are  taken  by  the 
guardian  to  annul  it,  and  the  absence  of  such  a  step 
up  to  the  day  of  majority  ratifies  the  marriage  by 
all  parties.  No,  a  secret  marriage  is  for  many  rea- 
sons inadvisable — even  scarcely  possible,  in  this  in- 
stance. It  is  better  to  wait  until  one  or  two  days 
before  the  day  of  majority,  and  then  have  the  cere- 
money  openly  performed  in  some  country  where  the 
parties  are  already  of  mature  age  and  where  fewer 
time-eating  formalities  are  required  to  advance.  In 
such  an  event  the  guardians  would  not  know  of  it 
in  time  to  take  steps  to  annul  it. 

Such  was  his  opinion.  So  I  carried  away  two 
crumbs  from  the  interview.  She  could  at  the  worst 
fight  for  her  heritage,  and  she  could  surely  reinstate 
herself  by  a  marriage  at  the  last  moment.  With 
whom?  Her  time  must  be  short  for  that,  now. 
With  whom?  It  need  only  be  a  marriage  of  expe- 
diency. Should  I  offer  her  this?  I  could  leave 
her  directly  after  the  ceremony  without  changing 
a  single  item  of  her  life.  Should  I?  Could  I  do 
it!  What  was  my  duty?  At  one  time  I  had  been 
in  a  position  to  protect  her,  but  utterly  without  rea- 
son she  had  bade  me  begone,  most  imperatively,  in 
259 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

terms  that  left  no  room  for  debate.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances to  have  continued  to  protect  her  at  such 
grave  expense  to  the  banker  had  seemed  unjustifi- 
able, and  my  conscience  was  still  clear  on  that  point. 
But  now  I  was  placed  again  in  a  position  to  shield 
her  (if  she  would  be  shielded),  and  this  time  at 
the  expense  of  my  own  peace  only,  without  involv- 
ing my  friends.  How  I  wished  for  good  old  Harry 
with  his  better  wit  and  larger  experience ! 

I  decided,  at  l^st,  that  it  was  necessary  to  have 
an  interview  with  her  and  show  her  her  position. 
Duty  demanded  that,  at  least.  Also,  this  course 
simplified  another  feature.  In  seeing  her  I  would 
no  doubt  meet  her  woman  friend  and  could  arrange 
with  her,  privately,  for  the  temporary  support  of 
both,  without  Gisela  ever  finding  it  out.  But  I 
would  see  the  woman  friend  first,  if  I  could. 

However,  there  was  one  more  step  to  take  before 
seeking  her  out.  That  was  to  ascertain,  if  possible, 
who  had  been  paying  for  her  apartments  and  sup- 
port, and  the  circumstances  under  which  that  had 
occurred.  Since  learning  that  she  had  not  been  in  the 
companionship  of  her  cousin  and  of  that  coterie  I 
sought  a  little  more  to  give  her  the  benefit  of  a  doubt. 
I  had  not  liked  the  conversation  I  had  overheard 
Christmas  Eve,  and  still  did  not  like  it — from  any 
standpoint.  In  Vienna,  men  who  are  willing  to 
support  a  woman  out  of  mere  kindness  and  without 
a  quid  pro  quo  are  very  rare  birds !  Enough  girls 
must  give  up  their  honor  even  to  retain  a  situation. 
Still  it  was  barely  possible  that  she  yet  remained 
an  innocent  girl.  Was  I  not  just  now  planning  to 
support  her,  without  her  knowledge,  and  meaning 
that  she  should  never  learn  of  the  fact?  Was  I  the 
only  man  in  the  world  who  would  help  a  woman 
honorably?  Perhaps  she  had  met  another  such; 
260 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

another  who  perhaps  loved  her  as  I  did.  And  if 
his  motives  were  not  good,  he  might  still  have 
helped  her  without  having  received  a  return. 

Of  course  it  was  possible,  but  still  I  did  not  like 
the  situation.  I  had  especially  not  liked  the  ready 
question  from  her  companion  asking  if  she  had  no 
one  else  to  go  to.  The  question  seemed  to  contain 
an  assumption — and  they  evidently  were  close  per- 
sonal friends. 

On  leaving  the  attorney's  offices  I  had  directed  the 
cabman  to  drive  to  the  principal  police  station.  In 
Vienna  an  exact  record  is  kept  by  the  police  of  the 
comings  and  goings  of  each  and  every  person,  great 
or  small,  resident  or  transient.  However,  in  this 
instance  my  inquiry  there  was  fruitless.  No  Gisela 
Tomanovich  and  no  Gisela  Portulan  were  known 
there.  I  could  only  conclude  that  she  was  living 
here  under  a  false  name.  This  I  liked  still  less. 

My  duties  did  not  permit  a  haunting  of  the  lo- 
cality away  out  in  Cottage  where  I  had  seen  her  and 
my  gorge  rose  at  the  idea  of  putting  a  watcher  on 
her  track.  Did  Lubitza  know  she  was  in  Vienna? 
I  considered  it  very  probable,  but  could  I  get  any 
information  out  of  Lubitza?  I  resolved  to  try.  Per- 
haps I  might  get  light  in  various  directions. 

It  had  been  so  long  since  I  had  had  even  an  in- 
direct word  from  Lubitza  that  I  supposed  she  had 
despaired  of  me  as  not  being  worth  her  trouble ; 
so  I  did  not  risk  a  note,  but  instead  scanned  the 
operatic  program  for  the  week  and  found  that  she 
would  sing  in  "Manon."  Accordingly  I  bought  a 
ticket  in  the  fourth  row  from  the  orchestra,  in  the 
hope  of  having  a  recognition  from  her  during  a 
recall,  in  which  case  I  would  send  in  my  note  after 
the  close  of  the  opera.  If  she  did  not  recognize  me 
I  would  visit  her  anvhow. 

261 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

But  Lubitza  had  one  great  quality  which  doubt- 
less had  contributed  no  little  to  the  immediate  suc- 
cess of  her  short  but  meteoric  operatic  career.  This 
was  her  unfailing  self-control  and  seemingly  inter- 
minable good  temper  under  all  circumstances.  It 
did  not  matter  what  boiling  might  be  occurring  with- 
in, Lubitza  not  only  would  not  give  way  to  temper 
but  also  could  look  as  though  not  even  self-control 
were  being  exercised.  She  was  well-known  for  the 
quality,  and  my  own  small  acquaintance  with  her 
had  borne  out  the  oft-quoted  fact. 

Now  I  had  been  Lubitza's  guest  at  a  dinner — • 
had  received  especial  consideration  as  a  guest  at 
her  hands  on  that  occasion  ;  had  stolen  away  without 
the  courtesy  of  an  adieu — had  never  made  a  return 
call,  the  latter  a  matter  for  constant  reproach  on 
Harry's  part  until  we  actually  parted.  Nor  had  I 
for  months  past  sent  her  any  message  or  given  any 
sign  that  I  was  aware  of  her  continued  existence. 
But,  true  to  herself,  during  not  one  but  two  recalls, 
I  received  the  compliment  of  a  personal  smile  that 
was  all  ajiy  man  could  have  expected  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  in  answer  to  my  note,  an  usher 
brought  to  me  in  the  garderobe  a  reply  which  made 
me  feel  ashamed  and  small  to  a  degree  that  no 
amount  of  reproaches  could  have  brought  about. 
She  "would  be  free  Saturday  evening  and  hoped  I 
would  give  her  as  many  hours  as  I  could"  was 
among  other  generous  sentences,  and  on  the  Satur- 
day evening,  at  the  hour  set,  I  repaired  thither. 

Lubitza  did  not  keep  me  waiting  after  I  was 
shown  into  her  drawing-room.  I  heard  her  say  to 
the  butler: 

"At  home  to  no  one ;  remember,  no  one,  Franz !" 

She  came  up  with  a  smile,  put  her  arms  around 
my  neck,  and  kissed  me  on  the  lips. 
262 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

"Now,  then,  Herr  Doktor !  Are  you  not  impressed 
by  my  forgiving  nature?" 

"Ah,  Signorina,  what  better  proof  is  there?  Lit- 
tle do  I  deserve  it,  I  admit.  But  I  have  not  ab- 
sented myself  because  I  have  forgotten  'the  To- 
maso.'  No  one  forgets  her, — or  ever  will !" 

She  pushed  two  chairs  nearly  together  and  we 
seated  ourselves. 

"I  am  not  so  sure  about  that.  When  I  was  look- 
ing at  the  operatic  stage  from  afar  I  dreamed  of 
being  the  pivot  about  which  should  revolve  the  lives 
of  all  who  should  once  hear  me  sing.  During  my 
self -centered  life  as  a  vocal  student  this  idea  was 
much  fostered,  for  we  hear  only  music  and  of 
music,  and  know  only  musicians.  We  get  to  believ- 
ing that  we  are  the  world ;  that  we  are  looked  upon 
by  all  others  as  the  world,  and  that  all  other  pur- 
suits in  life  are  but  our  various  back  scenes.  But 
now  that  I  have  climbed  up  to  the  very  top,  my  eye- 
sight has  remained  good  enough  to  see  the  other 
peaks,  on  a  clear  day,  and  I  have  realized  that  this 
one  upon  which  I  stand  is  but  one  of  many,  and 
moreover  that  it  is  not  the  tall  mountain  it  once 
looked  to  be.  It  is  only  one  of  those  pretty  grass 
grown  little  hills  which  are  sought  by  the  pleasure 
seeker  on  a  Sunday  afternoon." 

"Well,  Signorina,  at  least  it  is  of  use  to  more 
people  and  more  loved,  than  the  forbidding  Matter- 
horns  which  most  never  even  see.  And,  by  the 
way,  your  words  remind  me  that  I  have  never  had 
a  chance  to  ask  you  about  your  student  years.  It  is 
reported  that  you  studied  awhile  here  in  Vienna. 
Did  you?" 

She  proceeded  to  tell  me  of  her  study  time;  of 
her  hopes  and  trials,  disappointments  and  successes, 
and  many  a  piquant  anecdote  and  experience  with 
263 


The    A  c  c  u  r  s  e  d    R  o  c  c  o  s 

different  people  of  prominence  in  the  Continental 
musical  world.  Her  account  found,  in  me,  a  ready 
and  hungry  listener,  for  once  upon  a  time,  ages  be- 
fore, I,  too,  had  had  dreams  of  the  concert  stage — 
of  trials  and  successes,  and  of  a  final  flight  through 
the  musical  world;  of  being  a  second  Paganini  or 
Wieniawski,  or  Thompson  or  Ysaye,  or,  at  least  of 
leaving  the  world  an  accepted  member  of  that  re- 
splendent galaxy. 

It  appeared  from  her  account  that  most  of  her 
study  had  been  done  in  Italy  and  Paris,  some  in 
Berlin.  She  had  been  in  Vienna  only  two  months  at 
an  early  stage  of  her  work. 

"I  saw  you  once,"  she  remarked  smiling. 

"Really?    Where  was  it?" 

"It  was  at  the  corner  of  the  Karntner  and  Singer 
Streets.  You  were  having  a  great  row  with  a  cab- 
man. I  wanted  to  go  up  and  speak  to  you  but  you 
were  in  such  a  fury  that  I  did  not  dare,"  and  she 
laughed  heartily. 

*'I  don't  remember  the  circumstance.  Did  I 
leave  enough  of  him  to  bury?" 

"Oh,  yes.  There  was  much — much  of  him.  You 
called  him  a  'schuft'." 

"Oh,  I  remember  now.  That  fellow  had  me  up 
for  using  the  term.  By  the  way,  Signorina,  why 
was  I  not  informed  of  your  presence. 

"I  really  did  not — quite — dare,"  she  answered, 
gravely.  "You  see  it  was  just  after — also,  why 
are  we  so  formal  with  one  another?  I  am  not 
'Signorina' — to  you — nor  'the  Tomaso.'  I  am  Lu- 
bitza,"  and  she  passed  her  arm  confidingly  through 
mine. 

"And  my  name  is  Edward,  my  lady." 

"Good.     Of  course  I  know  I  ought  to  call  you 
'Herr  Doktor'  and  I  shall  try  not  to  forget  to  give 
264 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

you  your  hard-earned  title  when  others  are  by ;  but 
it  is  difficult  to  call  you  so.  It  is  so — so — unroman- 
tic,  so — impossible ! — between  young  people.  It  so 
— brings  up  the  mental  picture  of  years,  pomposity, 
long  verbiage,  nose-glasses, — and  bottles  and  jars 
containing  all  sorts  of  abominations — and  knives, 
and  dissecting — and  microbes  and  disgusting  ail- 
ments— Faugh!  How  can  a  girl  have  a  romance 
with  a  man  and  call  him  'Doctor?" 

"Alas — you  are  right !"  I  answered  as  soon  as  I 
could.  "Hereafter  I  shall  know  that  no  love  is  true 
that  is  protested  by  the  mouth  that  utters  'Doctor' !" 

"Soft-ly, — that  does  not  quite  follow.  But  when 
she  says  'Doctor,  I  love  you,'  set  her  down  as  either 
an  artful  and  designing  female,  or  an  insensate 
block  of  wood." 

"We  mere  men  can  always  learn  from  the  fair 
sex  when  we  have  the  good  sense  to  listen  and  not 
do  all  of  the  talking." 

"The  best  lesson  you  can  learn  from  us  is  to  be 
good  observers.  We  women  seldom  fail  in  that. 
Do  you  remember  what  I  once  said  to  you?" 

"Not  this  moment.    What  was  it?" 

She  was  smiling  archly  and  prettily  in  my  very 
face,  her  eyes  traveling  back  and  forth  from  my 
one  eye  to  the  other. 

"I  told  you,"  and  she  held  up  a  finger, — "I — told 
— you" — now  a  half  suppressed  laugh — "that — 
you  didn't  know — when — good  luck  was  hovering 
over  your  head!" 

Then  she  jumped  up  and  pirouetted  gaily  about 
the  room,  looking  back  teasingly  over  her  shoulder. 
Of  course,  now,  I  should  have  been  in  hot  pursuit 
of  her — but  I  remembered  my  errand,  and  sat  still, 
though  not  a  little  tempted. 

She  stood  a  little  way  off,  still  smiling  quizzically, 
265 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

then  she  seated  herself  upon  the  corner  of  a  table, 
still  smiling — seeming  to  study  me  for  a  minute,  a 
little  wonderingly,  as  it  seemed,  the  while  clutching 
a  bouquet  I  had  brought.  She  made  a  fascinating 
picture  of  the  woman  as  she  sat  there.  Lubitza  had 
a  piquant  face  and  beautiful  figure,  and  I  myself 
wondered  why  she  could  not  touch  me  more  deep- 
ly. She  again  rose,  and  turned  about  to  face  me 
and  her  dress  clung  in  folds  about  her.  Her  face 
grew  grave.  The  poise  of  her  head  was  grace  it- 
self, and  her  decollete  costume  allowed  full  view  of 
a  lovely  neck.  Her  arms  and  pretty  little  feet  had 
always  been  the  theme  of  rhapsody,  in  the  city.  Af- 
ter gravely  observing  me  quite  a  full  minute,  she 
asked  in  a  low  voice: 

"Do  you  still  love  her,  Edward?" 

The  question  was  direct  and  I  answered  it  as 
honestly  as  I  knew. 

"I  don't  know,  Lubitza." 

Her  half-Oriental  eyes  continued  to  gaze  specu- 
latively  into  my  face.  Then  she  came  around  be- 
hind me,  put  her  arms  around  my  neck  and  her 
face  against  mine. 

"Edward,  my  cousin  never  loved  you,  dear.  Do 
you  not  understand  that?  Hers  is  not  a  nature  for 
love — at  least  not  for  that  love  which  gives  un- 
selfishly. She  has  inherited  too  much  of  the  blood 
of  her  great-grandmother,  and  of  the  accursed 
Roccos,  for  she  is  in  the  direct  line.  It  is  fortunate 
for  you,  dear,  that  she  did  not  love  you.  Your  life 
together  would  have  been  one  long  war,  for  my 
cousin  is  happy  only  when  she  has  a  quarrel  on,  or 
something  to  weep  about.  Remember,  we  grew  up 
together  from  childhood  and  I  know  her,  through 
and  through.  Edward,  my  cousin  never  had  a 
lover  until  you  came.  Why?  She  is  a  beautiful 
266 


"Then    she    seated    herself    upon    the    corner    of    a    table 
still   smiling." 

(Accursed   Roccos.) 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

girl,  and  the  heiress.  Why  ?  Because  all  the  other 
men  at  home  who  knew  the  family  knew  her  dis- 
position. You,  of  course,  did  not.  If  you  had  won 
her,  you  would  have  regretted  it!  /  know!  You 
are  not  a  man  to  live  with  that  kind  of  a  woman. 
Be  glad  it  did  not  happen!  /  know!  Do  you  be- 
lieve me,  dear?" 

"Where  is  your  cousin  now  ?    At  home  ?" 

There  was  a  barely  perceptible  hesitation  before 
she  replied — only  a  very  little — but  enough  to  show 
that  the  answer  was  not  quite  spontaneous.  I  real- 
ized too  late  that  my  question  had  been  unskillfully 
worded — in  the  highest  degree,  for  an  acute  wom- 
an like  Lubitza  must  reason  at  once  from  it  that 
I  must  have  some  reason  for  the  half  suggestion 
that  Gisela  might  not  be  in  her  natural  place — her 
home.  But  I  could  not  recall  the  words. 

"She  was  until  three  months  ago." 

"And  where  is  she  now?" 

There  was  no  longer  hesitation. 

"We  do  not  know." 

"Not  know !"  And  I  grasped  her  hands,  un- 
locked her  arms  from  my  neck,  and  turned  half 
round  in  the  chair  to  face  her. 

"You  do  not  know !     Not  any  of  you  ?" 

"No,  Edward — at  least  none  of  the  family 
knows." 

I  stood  up  and  faced  her. 

"How  did  she  come  to  leave  her  uncle's  house  ?" 

"Of  course,  as  you  must  know,  Edward,  I  was 
not  there  when  she  left.  I  was  here  in  Vienna  fill- 
ing my  roles.  She  left  only  three  months  ago.  I 
can  only  tell  you  what  my  father  and  Paulo  have 
written  to  me.  You  are  perfectly  welcome  to  read 
both  of  their  letters,  Edward,  and  you  will  see  that 
I  am  telling  merely  the  truth.  I  think  that  truth 
267 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

will  surprise  you,  but  not  as  much  as  it  surprised 
me.  The  whole  thing,  in  a  nutshell,  is  that  Ober 
Leutnant  Carl  Overmann  has  been  trying  to  sit 
upon  two  stools  at  once !" 

"The  Ingenieur!" 

"Ay,  the  Ingenieur,"  she  answered,  impassively. 
"I  will  speak  openly  to  you,  dear.  As  you  know, 
he  and  I  have  long  been  engaged  to  be  married. 
We  have  not  specially  loved  one  another,  but  he  is 
a  handsome  man  and  a  good  partie,  and  as  things  go 
in  life,  I  could  have  been  fairly  contented  with  him, 
I  think.  On  his  side  he  reckoned  that  I  would 
have  wealth,  and  later,  since  my  operatic  successes 
he  seemed,  or  professed  to  be,  consumed  with  pride 
at  the  idea  of  sooner  or  later,  becoming  my  hus- 
band. We  have  always  joked  about  the  engagement, 
and  both  have  always  flirted; — he,  because  he 
wished  to,  and  I  have  always  returned  the  dose. 
Let  us  be  seated,  Edward.  Why  stand  here  like 
two  fancy  hitching  posts?" 

I  placed  a  chair  for  her  and  resumed  one  that 
would  allow  me  to  watch  her  face.  She  contin- 
ued: 

"Well,  about  four  months  ago,  some  time  in 
September,  I  received  a  letter  from  Paulo  inform- 
ing me  that  he  had  seen  Overmann  in  conversation 
with  my  cousin  late  one  evening  in  the  south  end 
of  Stolivo.  He  wrote  that  the  Ingenieur  had  not 
been  at  the  house,  nor  advised  any  one  of  his  pres- 
ence. Nor  did  my  cousin  speak  of  this  meeting 
later.  Paulo  wrote  that  he  had  said  nothing  to  fa- 
ther as  yet,  because  he  wanted  first  to  know  what 
I  thought  about  it,  and  what  I  wished  done. 

Well,  the  operatic  season  was  just  about  to  open 
and  I  was  scarcely  in  a  position  even  to  think  about 
the  affair,  to  say  nothing  of  taking  any  part  in  it, 
268 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

so  I  wrote  to  Paulo  to  tell  father  at  once  and  to 
tell  father  to  do  whatever  he  thought  best.  Some 
time  later  I  had  a  letter  from  father  about  the  mat- 
ter but  not  containing  any  additional  fact. 

I  heard  nothing  more  for  nearly  two  months  and 
then  I  received  a  letter  from  father  in  which  he 
wrote  that  my  cousin  had  left  Cattaro  with  all  her 
belongings.  Father  wrote  what  had  happened,  and 
after  Paulo's  letter,  I  was  no  longer  surprised. 

For  some  time  father,  Paulo  and  one  trusted 
servant  had  kept  watch  without  any  success.  I 
forgot  to  tell  you,  Edward,  that  my  father  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Trebinje,  supposedly  written 
just  during  the  period  when  Paulo  had  seen  the  In- 
genieur  in  Stolivo — a  letter  prepared  in  advance, 
of  course — and  thus,  his  intention  to  keep  his  visit 
a  secret  was  left  in  no  doubt. — Well,  I  was  going 
to  say,  the  family  watched  in  vain  until  one  day 
Paulo  saw  my  cousin  slyly  slip  a  note  into  Teresa's 
hands.  Teresa  was  my  cousin's  former  nurse,  and 
had  remained  on  in  the  family. 

Paulo  followed  her  out  onto  the  road,  took  the 
note  from  her  by  force,  and  brought  both  her  and 
the  note  back  into  the  house.  The  note  was  a  con- 
sent to  a  request  to  meet  Overmann  that  evening. 

My  cousin  had  not  seen  this  occurrence,  and 
they  locked  Teresa  in  a  room,  and  sent  the  note  to 
him  by  another  and  faithful  servant,  with  an  excuse 
for  the  change  of  messengers,  and  that  evening 
they  waited  for  my  cousin  to  go  out.  Paulo  and 
my  father  followed  her,  watched  her  meet  the  In- 
genieur  and  talk  with  him  a  long  time,  and  then  se- 
cretly return  to  her  room.  As  soon  as  she  entered, 
my  father  and  Paulo  followed  her  into  her  room 
and  faced  her  with  the  affair. 

My  cousin  has  an  impudence  beyond  limit  and 
269 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

defied  my  father,  denying  that  her  goings  and  com- 
ings were  any  of  his  business.  Of  course  I  do  not 
know  all  that  passed  but  Gisela  has  a  furious  tem- 
per and  it  is  not  strange  that  my  father  finally  be- 
came angered  past  all  endurance  and  ordered  her 
to  choose  between  giving  up  the  intrigue  and  leaving 
his  roof.  She  grandly  replied  that  she  would  leave 
at  once.  She  packed  most  of  her  things  that  night, 
the  rest  the  day  following  and  the  second  day  after, 
left  Cattaro.  She  left  there  between  two  and  three 
months  ago.  Now,  Edward,  you  have  the  whole 
story  as  far  as  I  know  about  it." 

"And  Teresa — did  she  not  follow  her  mistress?" 

"No,  she  remained  at  home.  I  suppose  taking  her 
did  not  suit  my  cousin's  sweet  plans." 

"And  the  Ingenieur?" 

"He  came  to  see  me  once,  the  second  week  in 
October.  Since  then  I  have  not  seen  him." 

"That  would  be  just  at  the  time  he  was  also 
visiting  your  cousin." 

"Yes,  Edward.  I  never  mentioned  the  subject  to 
him,  but,  of  course,  he  now  knows  that  I  know  all." 

I  mused  over  this  information  a  long  time.  That 
she  had  recited  a  truthful  narrative  seemed  beyond 
question.  We  cannot  always  know  when  a  narra- 
tive is  false,  but  we  generally  recognize  truth.  Of 
course,  as  far  as  it  went,  the  account  did  not  im- 
plicate Gisela  beyond  a  doubt,  but  the  inference 
left  little  in  question.  It  was  just  what  the  Inge- 
nieur might  be  expected  to  do — and  he  had  played  a 
good  game.  He  had  toyed  with  Lubitza  for  years, 
meanwhile  waiting  until  Gisela  would  be  near  her 
majority  when  less  control  could  be  exercised  by  her 
guardian,  keeping  himself  prepared  for  a  spring 
either  way.  I  congratulated  myself  that  I  had  been 
wise  enough  to  ascertain  Gisela's  circumstances  be- 
270 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

fore  making  a  fool  of  myself  by  going  to  her.  But 
why  would  Gisela  no  longer  accept  the  Ingenieur's 
support?  Probably  a  temporary  quarrel  such  as 
we  had  had. 

Lubitza  had  told  her  story  curiously  without 
spleen  or  anger,  as  if  she  were  relating  the  experi- 
ence of  a  third  person,  although  the  new  affair 
meant  much  to  her.  Things  had  worked  out  very 
well  for  the  Ingenieur,  and  I  inwardly  cursed  old 
Tomanovich  for  his  stupidity  in  allowing  Gisela  to 
go,  for  now  the  Ingenieur  held  everything  in  his 
hands.  He  could  marry  either  girl  and  take  the 
estates  with  her,  and  it  had  become,  with  him, 
merely  a  matter  of  choice  of  the  woman  herself 
now — a  choice  probably  long  considered.  He  prob- 
ably had  preferred  Gisela.  Now  he  could  confront 
Gisela  with  the  choice  of  marrying  him  or  being  ex- 
posed as  having  broken  the  real  terms  of  the  will. 
If  the  day  of  her  majority  passed  without  a  mar- 
riage or  if  she  refused  him,  he  could  give  Lubitza 
the  choice  of  marrying  him  or  having  the  proof  of 
Gisela's  wrong-doing  withheld.  Now,  for  the  pres- 
ent, his  position  with  Lubitza  was  safe  and  he  could 
desert  her  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  Gisela  and 
keep  other  possible  suitors  away,  for  in  the  latter 
case  lay  the  one  danger  to  the  success  of  his  plans. 

There  was  btrt  one  consideration  I  could  not 
explain.  I  asked  Lubitza  the  question. 

"Since  the  Ingenieur  and  your  cousin  are  in  love, 
why  do  they  not  simply  marry?  Why  do  they 
wait?" 

But  in  an  instant  after  asking  I  remembered  why. 
Of  course  he,  no  more  than  I,  could  secure  the  guar- 
dian's consent.  Lubitza  answered: 

"I  suppose  he  is  trying  to  choose  between  my 
more  beautiful  cousin  and  my  more  brilliant  self." 
271 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  did  not  believe  that  was  the  explanation,  either. 

"Perhaps  he  is  trying  to  choose  between  your 
more  innocent  cousin  and" 

I  had  thought  aloud.  I  had  not  really  meant  to 
say  it. 

"And  my  more  worldly  self,"  she  finished.  "Pos- 
sibly." 

Should  I  tell  her  that  Gisela  and  the  Ingenieur 
had  quarreled?  Or,  at  any  rate,  disagreed?  No! 
I  would  take  no  part  in  it ! 

"Lubitza,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  Ingenieur 
will  come  back  to  you.  Will  you  marry  him  in 
that  case?" 

"I'd  have  to,  dear.  And — yes,  I  would  marry 
him.  I  am  sure  you  know  about  the  family  es- 
tates ?" 

"Certainly.  But  are  you  not  independent  now? 
Will  you  not  soon  have  more  than  you  can  use  with 
still  more  to  follow?  Why  do  you  care?  Why 
not  let  her  have  her  estate?  In  a  few  years,  if 
you  are  careful,  you  will  have  as  much." 

"I  will  not  give  up  either  the  estates  or  my  affi- 
anced husband,  if  I  can  help  it,  Edward." 

Alas,  here  it  was  again.  She  had  not  said  it 
violently  as  poor  Gisela  had,  but  there  was  even 
less  room  for  doubt  that  she  meant  it. 

Lubitza  had  completely  won  me  over.  Her  abil- 
ity to  discuss  such  a  state  of  affairs  with  such  self- 
control  engaged  my  respect,  as  it  must  have  done 
that  of  any  other  person.  Furthermore  she  had 
gained  my  sympathy. 

Of  course  Gisela  had  an  undoubted  right  to  fight 
for  her  estate.  She  also  had  a  right  to  fall  in  love. 
So  far  as  purely  worldly  equities  went,  she  even 
had  the  right  to  take  a  lover  without  marriage. 
But  she  had  not  had  a  right  to  employ  her  unusual 
272 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

personal  and  material  advantages  in  robbing  her 
cousin  of  her  fiance.  Lubitza  might  be  what  she 
pleased ;  that  she,  in  her  private  life,  was  no  exam- 
ple for  the  youth,  I  was  very  certain.  Nor  would 
she  ever  be.  She  no  more  than  a  spring  breeze 
would  ever  be  'prisoned  by  marriage.  But  all  that 
was  by  the  side  of  the  question,  and  did  not  alter 
the  fact  that  she  had  received  dishonorable  treat- 
ment at  the  hands  of  both  the  Ingenieur  and  her 
cousin. 

My  errand  with  Lubitza  was  accomplished  but  I 
stayed  on.  I  wished  I  could  offer  her  my  sym- 
pathy, but  hesitated  to  discuss  the  matter  for  fear 
I  should  let  slip  the  fact  that  I  knew  Gisela  was  in 
Vienna,  or  make  some  other  slip  that  would  do  no- 
body any  good.  But  I  did  wish  to  say  something 
kind  to  her  for  I  did  not  believe  Lubitza  was  in- 
wardly as  calm  about  the  affair  as  her  outward  mien 
indicated.  I  suppose  she  read  my  thoughts  in  the 
workings  of  my  face,  for  she  rose  and  said: 

"Oh,  dear  friend,  never  mind.  What  must  be, 
will  be.  You  are  the  only  one  with  whom  I  have 
ever  talked  this  over,  and  I  did  not  intend  to  en- 
tertain you  with  my  troubles  tonight." 

She  placed  a  hand  on  either  side  of  my  head  and 
made  me  look  up  at  her. 

"Edward,  be  my  friend!  Not  to  help  me  in  my 
affairs,  for  there  is  no  way.  Nor  do  I  want  sym- 
pathy. I  only  want  a  little  sunshine  that  is  real  and 
that  does  not  come  through  the  smoked  glasses  of 
selfishness  and  self-interest.  Just  be  my  good  friend 
to  whom  I  can  look  for  a  little  that  is  real  amidst 
all  the  falseness  I  have  about  me.  I  always  liked 
you,  dear — but  that  is  no  matter.  I  know  I  am  no 
longer  the  woman  for  you  to  marry,  so  never  have 
a  moment's  fear  of  any  misunderstanding  on  my 
273 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

part.  But  we  can  be  much  to  each  other — if  you 
will,  Edward." 

Now  Lubitza  was  a  very  handsome  woman,  to 
say  the  least,  and  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  yet  met 
the  man  who  could  have  resisted  that  appeal,  un- 
der the  circumstances,  and  as  I  believe,  few  of 
them  would  have  tried.  And  she  asked  so  little ! 
What  I  know  is,  that  the  inevitable  happened  and 
a  moment  later  Lubitza  was  comfortably  installed 
on  my  knee,  amid  merry  laughter  on  the  part  of 
both.  Harry's  twice  repeated  recommendation  came 
back  to  me — "Let  old  bones  remain  buried,"  Lu- 
bitza herself  had  not  needed  this  advice.  Should 
I  be  less  wise  ?  And  why  not  ?  I  would  be  robbing 
nobody  and  neither  would  she.  We  were  both  in 
the  same  position ;  she  deserted  by  her  fiance  and  I 
forgotten  by  my  loved  one.  There  was  no  one  to 
say  us  yea  or  nay.  Since  she  asked  it,  why  not  in- 
deed ! 

"What  a  head  of  hair  you  have,  dear!  It  goes 
through  my  fingers  like  silk  threads  blown  about  in 
the  wind.  Overmann  has  hair  like  the  bristles  of 
a  shoe-brush  and  none  too  much  of  it.  By  the  way, 
Edward,  did  he  ever  give  you  his  prescription  for 
the  cure  of  love?" 

"No.  He  has  given  Harry  and  me  some  elemen- 
tary instruction  on  the  subject,  but  he  forgot  to  tell 
us  that.  What  is  it?" 

"//  you  have  loved  but  lightly 
Then  change  of  scene  and  thought 
To  lands  where  the  sun  shines  brightly — 
Thus  comes  your  rest.    Why  not? 
But  if  your  heart,  my  lover, 
Strikes  deep,  the  vicious  shot, 
Then,  pause  not — leave  your  cover! 
274 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

And  let  your  pace  be  hot! 
For  what?    Why,  fust  another 
From  the  same  Dan  Cupid's  Lot!" 

"Ah.  As  a  remedy,  it  seems  to  be  based  upon 
the  idea  that  we  become  hardened  to  the  onslaught 
— if  we  survive.  I  have  known  of  other  remedies 
that  seemed  to  have  a  like  ground.  There  is  also 
a  botanical  prescription  for  this  ailment." 

"Oh,  that  will  be  nauseating,  I  am  sure!  But 
what  is  it? 

"Take  ye 

Of  Violets, 

Of  Roses, 

Of  Lilies,  each  i  bloom. 

Of  sensitive  plant,  i  piece. 

Of  Daisies,  quod  sufficit. 
Mix,  and  steep  in  good  wine,  but  do  not  allow 

the  mixture  to  come  to  a  boil. 
Signa:   Warm  before  using.    Apply  as  needed." 

"But,  Edward,  who  wishes  to  be  cured  of  love? 
Has  anyone  ever  called  you  for  this  illness?" 

"Not  just  exactly.  As  you  suggest,  they  do  not 
seek  a  cure,  usually, — until  the  ailment  has  pro- 
gressed much.  Lubitza." 

"Well,  dear?" 

"Do  you  not  love  Overmann?" 

"In  a  way,  yes  dear.  A  woman  must  always 
have  a  certain  regard  for  a  handsome,  manly  and 
able  man,  who  is  or  has  been,  her  fiance.  Over- 
mann is  rising  in  his  work.  Next  year  he  will  be 
promoted  over  some  of  his  seniors.  Then,  dear, 
he  and  I  have  never  actually  quarreled — that  makes 
a  difference.  But  he  does  not  satisfy  me  and,  in 
275 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ways,  has  never  attracted  me.  Perhaps  I  have 
more  pride  in,  than  love  for,  him.  But,  dear,  let 
us  not  talk  of  him  more!  Let  us  forget  him,  for 
now,  at  least.  Have  we  not,  both,  something  to 
forget?  Let  us  help  one  another  to  do  it." 

Both  of  her  arms  went  around  my  neck  and  her 
face  against  mine.  Lubitza  was  one  of  those  rare 
persons  gifted  by  Nature  with  the  sweet  natural 
perfume  which  takes  up  its  abode  with  some  sound 
and  healthy  people  whose  diet  is  simple  and  who 
are  very  faithful  to  the  bath.  This  perfume  intoxi- 
cated me  like  a  glass  of  strong  wine.  I  raised  her 
in  my  arms,  arose  and  waltzed  about  the  room. 
She  laughed  gleefully  and  began  to  whistle  an  air. 
But  she  was  no  feather-weight  girl  and  the  dance 
could  not  last  and  we  fell  full  length  upon  a  chaise- 
longue,  I  out  of  breath  and  she  laughing  with  de- 
light. Her  face  was  a  glory  of  color  and  her 
Oriental  eyes  were  half-closed. 

"Oh,  Edward  !  That  was  delicious.  How  strong 
you  are !  I  don't  believe  I  know  another  man  who 
could  do  that !  You  cannot  guess  how  lovely  a  sen- 
sation it  is  to  be  picked  up  like  that  and  carried 
around  as  if  one  were  a  doll.  It  brings  home  to  a 
woman  a  man's  strength,  and  that  appeals  to  every 
one  of  us.  Oh,  Edward !  why  have  we  waited  all 
these  months?  It  is  so  much  taken  out  of  our 
lives !" 

"Lubitza,  do  you" 

"Don't  call  me  by  that  name  any  more,  dear!  I 
hear  that  from  every  ordinary  friend — therefore 
it  is  not  for  you.  Call  me  Cara.  It  is  my  little 
childhood  name.  It  will  be  sweet  from  you." 

"Cara!" 

I  pushed  her  away  from  me  and  at  the  same  in- 
stant fell  sprawling  over  the  edge  of  the  couch  onto 
276 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  floor,  where  I  half  sat,  supported  on  my  hands, 
and  stared  at  her. 

"Cara!" 

She  sat  up  and  at  first  gazed  at  me  in  astonish- 
ment. Then  she  blushed  violently.  Then  I  saw 
her  face  change  as  it  does  when  a  person,  faced  by 
a  bad  situation,  determines  to  meet  it  bravely. 

"Why — yes,  Edward.  Do  you  not  remember  my 
letter  and  your  answer  ?  That  summer  in  Cattaro  ? 
You  answered  with  the  name  and  said  you  had 
partly  got  used  to  it." 

And  she  smiled  hesitatingly. 

It — the  one  word — had  been  like  a  dash  of  ice 
cold  water.  The  details  of  the  matter  crept,  one  by 
one,  back  into  my  mind,  and  I  saw  the  full  light,  at 
last;  and  I  saw  it  too  late!  A  purposeless  impo- 
tent rage  began  to  boil  deep  down,  and  the  froth 
rose  up  and  filled  my  throat,  head  and  brain.  I 
struggled  to  my  feet  only  to  fall  into  a  chair  and 
stare  at  her  again.  It  must  have  been  two  or  three 
minutes  before  I  began  to  recover  a  semblance  of 
control,  and  during  this  time  she  gazed  at  me  in 
wide-eyed  and  open-mouthed  amazement. 

At  last  I  found  my  tongue,  but  speech  was  diffi- 
cult. 

"Lubitza — do  you  mean — for  one  instant — that 
you — wrote  that  letter?" 

"Of  course  I  wrote  it!     Why  not?" 

Self-government  only  came  to  me  by  constantly 
keeping  in  mind  that  she  was  a  woman,  but  the  un- 
ruly tongue  refused  to  act,  again,  for  a  moment. 
In  sheer  inability  to  do  anything  else,  I  conned  the 
letter  over; — for  I  knew  it  word  for  word. 

"What — did  you — mean  by  the  'little  arrange- 
ment' you  spoke  of?" 

"Our  meeting  in  Vienna,  of  course!  What  did 
277 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

you  mean  in  your  reply  when  you  referred  to  it? 
Ah — h— h !  I  think  I  begin  to  see !  You  thought 
my  cousin  had  written  it,  did  you,  Herr  Doktor? 
And  you  had  some  'arrangement'  or  other  with  her ! 
Evidently  matters  had  progressed  farther  between 
you  and  my  cousin  than  any  of  us  were  dreaming !" 

So  Father  Petrus  had  kept  faith  then — even  af- 
ter Paulo's  release!  I  wondered  why.  He  must 
have  begun  his  account  to  the  Signor  with  the  begin- 
ning of  our  own  conversation.  Or  was  it  merely 
that  Lubitza  was  an  exquisite  liar?  I  remembered 
Paulo. 

"Lubitza,  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  did  not 
know  that  I  was  deeply  in  love  with  Gisela?" 

"How  could  I  judge  how  much  you  loved  her! 
Of  course  I  know  you  asked  father  for  her  the 
night  of  the  ball,  but  you  never  saw  her  afterwards 
— or  did  you  ?  It  seems  we  did  not  quite  do  justice 
to  my  cousin's  management  in  these  things!" 

"And  so,  you  did  not  know  that  I  truly  loved 
your  cousin?"  I  asked  again,  very  sarcastically. 

"Then  ?  No !  I  only  knew  that  you  admired  and 
wished  to  marry  her.  She  was  the  heiress !  We 
were  not  used  to  the  idea  of  anybody  loving  her! 
That  very  afternoon  when  you  called  you  had  said 
that  you  and  your  friend  were  to  leave  in  a  day  or 
two, — as  I  supposed,  without  having  seen  her  since 
the  ball.  My  father  had  refused  to  give  her  to 
you.  Therefore  I  naturally  supposed  you  had  given 
her  up,  and  were  willing  to  try  it  on  with  me,  and 
I  was  willing.  What  was  your  'little  arrangement' 
with  my  cousin?  And  where  and  how  did  you 
meet  her  after  the  ball?" 

Had  Father  Petrus  never  spoken  then?  After 
Paulo  was  released  and  his  silence  was  no  longer 
necessary?  Had  her  father  never  told  her  of  the 
278 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

search  in  the  church?  I  could  not  believe  it.  I 
conned  over  the  letter  I  had  written  her.  It  simply 
could  not  be  that  she  had  honestly  believed  it  was 
for  her.  No,  Lubitza  had  in  the  previous  moment, 
either  momentarily  forgotten  the  incident  or  she 
had  not  known  that  I  would  know  what  effect  the 
letter  had  had.  Again  I  remembered  her  brother's 
histrionic  power — and  her  own, — and  with  the 
memory  knew  her  for  the  exquisite  liar  she  was. 

"Lubitza,  did  your  cousin  ever  see  my  reply  to 
your  letter  ?" 

She  laughed  derisively. 

"Oh,  yes — the  following  morning.  That  woman 
Teresa  used  to  take  care  of  both  our  rooms,  and 
was  always  meddling  with  my  things.  She  opened 
a  drawer,  found  the  letter,  and  showed  it  to  my 
cousin.  My  cousin  kept  it,  refusing  to  return  it  in 
spite  of  an  ugly  quarrel  and  father's  order  to  do  so. 
Otherwise  I  would  return  it  to  you  now — since  it 
was  not  meant  for  me." 

"Lubitza,  you  knew  very  well  that  that  letter  was 
never  meant  for  you,  and  you  left  it  lying  about  so 
your  cousin  would  find  it !" 

"And  why,  pray?  I  was  not  aware  of  the  fact 
that  you  were  toying  with  both  of  us  a  1'Ingenieur 
Overmann.  As  I  have  said,  I  naturally  supposed 
you  had  given  her  up.  I  believe  you  said,  this  eve- 
ning, that  Overmann  had  given  you  some  elemen- 
tary instruction  in  love.  You  seem  to  assimilate 
instruction  well.  If  you  will  assure  me  that  you 
have  listened  to  your  medical  lectures  as  carefully, 
I  shall  not  forget  to  call  you  when  I  need  a  phy- 
sician's help!" 

Lubitza  spoke  in  a  seemingly  calm  and  perfectly 
even  tone  of  voice.     I  understood,  now,  what  poor 
high-strung    Gisela    had    always    had    to    contend 
279 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

with — I  was  getting  just  a  taste  of  it  myself. 
Here  was  a  woman  who  could  quarrel  bitterly 
without  getting  into  a  passion,  without  rais- 
ing her  voice  or  changing  her  expression. 
She  could  cut,  watching  the  while  for  the  next 
chance  to  cut,  and,  above  all,  she  had  that 
talent  which  some  women  possess  to  the  highest  de- 
gree and  which  is  more  seldom  found  in  men,  of 
juggling  with  circumstances  and  occurrences, — 
bending  one  a  little,  snipping  another  a  bit,  moving 
them  up  and  down  and  from  side  to  side,  like  a 
child  putting  together  his  lettered  building  blocks, 
until  he  has  constructed  something  that  the  origin 
of  the  material  had  never  dreamed  of — and  in  Lu- 
bitza's  case  with  the  facility  of  long  practice. 

My  astonishment  at  her  saved  some  of  my  own 
self-control  for  it  gave  time  for  my  first  fury  to 
subside.  How  she  had  befooled  and  befogged  me 
to-night !  I  took  out  my  handkerchief  and  scrubbed 
my  lips  until  they  stung.  She  laughed,  derisively. 

"Is  the  aftertaste  so  bad,  then,  Herr  Doktor? 
Well,  it  will  help  you  to  remember,  hereafter,  that 
our  lips  have  met." 

Futhermore,  I  began  to  see  the  light  in  another 
direction,  as  I  watched  her  calm  and  now  quizzi- 
cal face.  This  story  of  the  Ingenieur  having  de- 
serted her — I  had  believed  it,  and  still  believed  the 
facts  on  the  face  of  it.  But  as  she  had  juggled  the 
facts  which  had  occurred  at  Cattaro,  so  now  I  be- 
lieved she  had  juggled  with  those  of  her  story  this 
evening.  Yes,  the  Ingenieur  might  have  left  her 
for  the  time  being,  but  I  now  believed  it  was  by  ar- 
rangement. He  was  to  spoil  her  cousin  and  then 
return  to  Lubitza; — that  was  it!  Old  Tomano- 
vich  and  Paulo  had  not  been  so  stupid,  after  all ! 
Why  were  Gisela  and  the  Ingenieur  parting  now? 
280 


The    Accursed    Roc  cos 

Was  his  errand  done?  With  this  thought  the  boil- 
ing began  again. 

"Well,  Edward,  have  you  read  me  yet  ?  It  should 
not  take  a  practised  medical  man  so  long  to  arrive 
at  a  diagnosis.  It  inspires  distrust  on  the  part  of 
his  patient." 

My  kettle  boiled  over,  at  last. 

"Signorina,  never  you  dare  use  my  given  name 
again !  Never,  as  long  as  you  live !  If  you  do, 
woman  though  you  are,  and  no  matter  where  it  oc- 
curs, I  swear  I  shall  strike  you  on  the  mouth!" 

She  calmly  rose. 

"So  be  it,  Herr  Doktor — there  is  the  door !" 

I  obeyed  the  command,  but  turned,  at  the  door, 
for  one  word  more. 

"I  understand  all !  I  see  what  your  plans  have 
been,  and  you  seem  to  have  succeeded.  Beware, 
Signorina!  The  success  of  such  a  piece  of  devil- 
try is  always  a  dearly  bought  victory !  The  day  will 
surely  come  when  you  will  pay!" 

She  heard  me  out,  then  turned  and  entered  her 
boudoir,  without  reply.  I  reached  the  ante-room, 
gathered  up  my  coat  and  left  the  house,  vowing,  at 
any  cost,  at  any  sacrifice,  if  it  still  remained  pos- 
sible, to  turn  her,  and  above  all,  the  Ingenieur's 
roses  into  ashes. 


CHAPTER  VI 

I  HAD  answers  for  most  of  the  questions  I  had 
meant  to  ask,  and  a  few  more  I  had  not  thought 
of;  but  so  far  from  congratulating,  I  cursed  myself 
for  a  stupid  dolt,  who  but  for  one  false  move  on 
her  part  would  have  been,  by  now,  in  harness  and 
hating  himself.  I  was  sorry  I  had  gone  there  at  all, 
for  I  would  have  been  better  off  without  the  infor- 
mation I  had,  by  chance,  received.  Of  course  I  did 
not  forget  that  she  had  let  the  story  lose  nothing  in 
the  telling;  but  the  cardinal  fact  remained  that 
Gisela  had  quarrelled  with  her  uncle  and  left  the 
house  on  the  Ingenieur's  account.  Lubitza  was  too 
clever  a  woman  to  manufacture  such  a  story  as  that 
— one  which  would  be  suspected  at  once.  More- 
over, it  was  borne  out  by  the  facts  that  had  come 
to  me  from  an  independent  source. 

Yes,  I  would  have  been  better  off  without  the 
information ;  but  I  had  it,  now,  and  therefore  it  was 
to  deal  with.  And  I  was  in  a  mood  to  deal  with  it. 
My  rage  at,  and  hatred  for,  Lubitza  and  the  Inge- 
nieur  were  now  equal,  I  was  sure,  to  anything  Gisela 
herself  had  ever  felt.  Moreover  now,  of  course,  I 
saw  Gisela's  past  behavior  to  me  in  a  different  light. 
She  had  quitted  me  in  the  Cathedral  in  headlong 
excitement  and  anger  and  had  remained  angry,  and 
the  sight  of  the  letter  Lubitza  had  received,  had 
clinched  her  determination  and  made  it  final ;  but 
she  had  not  vacillated  and  played  with  me  as  I  had 
supposed.  She  had  been  consistent  according  to 
her  information.  She  had  only  given  me  the  treat- 
ment she  believed  I  had  deserved,  and  the  lack  of 
282 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

an  opportunity  to  clear  up  the  misunderstanding 
was  to  be  laid  at  Lubitza's  door.  True,  Gisela 
might  have  listened  to  me,  but  I  remembered  her 
high  strung  temperament  and  inexperience,  remem- 
bered the  fact  that  she  really  knew  me  but  little,  and 
the  further  fact  that  she  had  never  had  aught  but 
falseness  and  intrigue  round  about  her,  and  her  re- 
peated warning-  that  she  would  endure  no  flirting 
with  her  cousin.  Thus  I  found  it  easy  to  explain 
and  even  to  forgive  the  position  she  had  taken  with 
regard  to  me.  The  blame  for  my  fiasco  was  Lu- 
bitza's and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  she  and  her 
fiance  should  pay. 

Finally  I  remembered  again  that  Gisela's  present 
situation  was  the  result  of  my  having  precipitately 
withdrawn  my  protection.  This  fact  bit  deeply  into 
my  conscience  and  buried  itself  there  to  fester;  and 
no  ever  so  reasonable  justification  gave,  now,  any 
relief  whatever  from  this  sting. 

The  one  thing  I  could  neither  understand  nor  for- 
give was  Gisela's  going  to  Overmann.  I  remem- 
bered well  her  emphatic  uncomplimentary  refer- 
ences to  him.  The  memory  of  these  added  to  the 
mystery  and  put  it  entirely  beyond  my  depth.  What 
legerdemain  could  he  have  used  ?  Were  his  theories 
about  women, — alas, — correct,  after  all?  Had  she 
really  preferred  "a  walk  in  the  woods?" 

Well,  now  at  least,  all  plans  were  simplified.  I 
would  find  Gisela  and  offer  her  a  marriage  of  ex- 
pediency. Thus  her  estate  would  be  saved  for  her, 
and  until  the  very  last  days  of  her  minority  when 
that  marriage  could  take  place,  I  would  support 
her  and  her  companion. 

But  first  I  had  to  find  her.    I  took  the  following 
day  for  this  purpose,  made  my  way  to  the  locality 
and  attacked  the  matter  systematically. 
283 


The    Accursed    RoccOs 

When  I  had  watched  them  disappear  that  Christ- 
mas Eve  they  had  turned  north  on  Tiirkenschanz 
street.  By  repeating  it,  I  estimated  the  time  my  sharp 
run  to  the  corner  had  taken,  and  felt  sure  they  had 
riot  had  time  to  reach  Sternwarte  street.  If  they 
had  entered  any  house  on  Tiirkenschanz  street  I  was 
sure  I  would  have  been  in  time  to  see  them.  As 
there  were  no  westerly  outlets  here  from  Tiirken- 
schanz street  it  followed  that  they  must  have  turned 
into  Anton  Frank  street.  Since  this  turning  was  a 
backward  one  in  the  direction  they  had  come,  I 
inferred  that  they  must  live  near  this  corner,  as 
otherwise  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  they  would 
have  crossed  over  on  Lazaristen  street,  and  I  would 
not  have  seen  them  at  all.  This  locality  was  a  nest 
of  villas.  Near  here  lived  a  world-renowned  old 
professor  of  the  piano  and  a  famous  vocal  teacher. 

I  had  come  out  early  in  the  morning  and  after 
having  accomplished  this  much,  I  walked  a  way 
down  the  street,  so  they  would  not  run  pele-mele 
upon  me  if  they  happened  to  appear,  and  seated 
myself  upon  a  bench  under  the  trees  whence  my 
eyes  could  command  the  street.  Here  I  cooled  my 
heels  for  over  an  hour  without  result,  save  to  at- 
tract the  undisguised  staring  of  certain  young  and 
old  women  in  a  neighbouring  dressmaking  estab- 
lishment, or  what  appeared  to  be  such. 

Finding  this  irksome  at  last,  I  wandered  still 
farther,  down  to  Gymnasium  street  where  the  large 
buildings  began  again,  and  here  I  spied  the  shop  of 
a  friseur,  the  which  offered  a  suggestion.  This 
would  be  their  nearest  friseur  and  they  had  doubt- 
less repeatedly  visited  his  shop  to  have  their  hair 
done  for  the  opera.  If  so,  he  would  surely  remem- 
ber that  big  woman. 

The  step  proved  successful.  He  did  remember 
284 


The    Accursed    Roccos 

her,  and  directed  me  to  the  villa  which  was  next 
door  but  one  to  the  abode  of  the  singing  teacher. 
This  house  was  occupied  by  a  certain  Frau  Blum, 
a  widow  in  good  circumstances,  but  who  let  part  of 
her  villa.  I  presented  myself  there  and  was  ushered 
into  a  little  drawing-room.  After  a  few  moments 
Frau  Blum  entered. 

"Oh,  I  suppose  you  mean  Fraulein  Narishkina?" 
"Yes,   Gnadige   Frau,    Fraulein   Cecilia   Narish- 
kina." 

"Forgive  me,  Gnadiger  Herr,  but  who  are  you?" 
I  handed  her  my  card.     She  glanced  at  it,  and 
then  gave  me  a  very  careful  looking  up  and  down. 
Then  she  rose,  closed  all  the  doors  and  seated  her- 
self nearer  to  me. 

"I  am  quite  sure  you  have  never  been  here  be- 
fore.". 

"Never,  gnadige    Frau, — seldom  as   far  as   the 
street." 

"You  are  seeking  Fraulein  Cecilie?" 
"Yes,  Gnadige,  with  the  help  of  your  kindness." 
"I  am  sorry,  but  I  fear  I  cannot  give  you  her 
present  address  without  first  consulting  her.     She 
has  asked  me  to  give  no  one  her  address.    She  and 
a  friend  of  hers  have  gone  together,  and  they  are 
trying  to  avoid  meeting  somebody,  but  I  don't — 
think  it — could  be  you.    You  are  from  the  General 
Hospital?" 

"Yes,  Gnadige,  from  the  Klinik  Baumann." 
So  then  Gisela  had  severed  communications  with 
the  Ingenieur!  That  was  one  fact  to  the  good,  at 
least.  I  considered.  It  was  urgent  that  I  learn  the 
date  of  Gisela's  majority,  and  I  conceived  that 
Fraulein  Narishkina  would  know  it.  Also  if  there 
were  plenty  of  time,  I  wanted  to  help  Gisela  secret- 
ly and  wait  for  a  favorable  opportunity  before  pre- 

285 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

senting  myself  before  her.  An  interview  with 
Fraulein  Cecilie  was,  therefore,  the  urgent  matter 
now. 

"Gnadige  Frau,  I  do  not  personally  know  Frau- 
lein Narishkina,  but  I  know  of  her.  I  have  an  im- 
portant communication  for  her.  However,  since 
she  has  requested  you  to  give  her  address  to  no 
one" 

"She  did.  But  I  cannot — think  she  could  have 
meant  that  for  you.  I  would  not  like  to — keep  her 
out  of  anything — that  is  for  her  good.  She  has 
worked  hard  and  things  have  gone  none  too  well 
for  her." 

"It  will  not  be  necessary  for  me  to  have  her  ad- 
dress. I  can  meet  her  here,  if  you  will  kindly  al- 
low it." 

"Naturally!  I  can  send  a  note  setting  any  day 
and  hour  you  please." 

"Let  us  say  Tuesday  afternoon  at  four,  then." 

"Good !  I  will  attend  to  it." 

And  I  returned  to  my  apartments. 

I  appeared  in  good  time  at  Frau  Blum's  villa  and 
found  Fraulein  Cecilie  already  there.  She  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  most  remarkable  women,  in  her 
personal  appearance,  I  had  ever  seen — a  Russian 
and  a  student  of  singing  as  Lubitza  had  once  been, 
but  who  had  her  goal  still  to  reach.  Everything 
about  her  was  emphasized,  beginning  with  her  hair 
and  eyes,  the  latter  being  grey-blue,  very  large  and 
roofed  over  with  thick  but  shapely  brows.  Frau- 
lein Cecilie  was  not  corpulent, — she  was  just  big, 
her  face  massively  handsome  and  her  figure  pleas- 
ing. After  I  had  talked  with  her  awhile  I  found 
her  a  curious  mixture  of  diplomacy  and  directness, 
as  Russians  are  apt  to  be,  combined  with  plenty  of 

286 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

womanly  good  nature.  I  liked  her,  thoroughly, 
from  the  start. 

After  a  moment  Frau  Blum  left  us  alone  and 
Cecilie  raised  her  eyebrows  with  a  smile.  I  apol- 
ogized at  once  and  begged  her  not  to  be  disap- 
pointed because  my  errand,  though  with  her,  was 
not  for  her  personal  benefit. 

"I  have  been  aware  of  that  from  the  moment  I 
saw  your  card.  You  are  seeking  my  friend.  Since 
seeing  you,  of  course,  I  have  been  certain  of  that." 

I  could  gather  nothing  from  her  expression. 

"Gisela  has  spoken  of  me  then." 

"Oh,  yes."  And  she  sat  back,  raised  her  eye- 
brows and  shrugged  her  shoulders.  Then  she  met 
my  eyes,  rather  uncompromisingly.  "Please  tell 
me,  Herr  Doktor,  how  you  learned  my  given  name." 

"Gnadiges  Fraulein,  I  entreat  your  pardon  a 
thousand  times!" 

"Oh,  no,  not  at  all,  Herr  Doktor.  Indeed,  since 
you  know  it,  please  use  it.  I  am  only  curious." 

"Not  to  be  wondered  at.    I  will  tell  you." 

I  recalled  the  time  and  place  when  I  had  heard 
Gisela  use  the  name. 

"Kol-lo-sal!  Fabelhaft!  And  you  were  there 
and  heard  that!" 

"Not  all  you  said,  but  enough  to  know  that  Gi- 
sela was  in  trouble,  and  that  her  friend  loved  her 
well  enough  to  sell  her  own  rings  so  they  might  re- 
main together." 

She  shook  her  finger  at  me  with  only  the  half  of 
a  smile. 

"It  was  eaves-dropping !  But  since  you  had  rec- 
ognized her  voice,  it  was  but  human.  I  must  acquit 
you  of  blame  in  that,  at  least." 

"My  own  conscience  has  already  acquitted  me, 
especially  the  last  few  days.  I  tried  to  ascertain  her 

287 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

address  at  the  police  office,  but  she  was  not  known 
there.  I  supposed  from  that,  that  she  had  assumed 
a  false  name,  and  I  made  no  further  effort  to  find 
her.  Further  information  has,  however,  made  me 
feel  that  I  must  act  for  her  welfare.  Therefore  I 
am  here.  I  wish  to  learn  two  facts,  to  take  at  once 
one  step  for  her  benefit,  and  to  have  one  promise 
from  you.  As  you  know  who  I  am,  I  suppose  you 
are  willing  to  trust  me?" 

"Provided  you  do  not  ask  me  to  trust  you  too 
far,  Herr  Doktor !  I  have  not  understood  that  you 
are  overly  worthy  of  confidence.  Now  do  not  un- 
derstand too  much  from  that.  I  have  only  been  led 
to  believe  that  you  are  like  other  men,  who  seem, 
as  a  rule,  to  think  it  clever  to  use  their  superior 
experience  and  better  knowledge  of  the  world  in 
playing  double  with  a  woman." 

It  cut,  and  I  rose,  went  to  the  window  and  looked 
out  a  bit  until  the  stinging  in  my  eyes  should  abate 
a  little.  But  I  resolved  to  make  no  defence,  then. 
Finally  I  sat  down  again  and  faced  her. 

"For  one  thing,  Herr  Doktor,  I  will  not  give  you 
our  address.  Of  course,  from  my  name,  you  can 
now  ascertain  it  at  the  police-bureau,  but  I  hope 
you  will  be  honorable  enough  not  to  do  so,  or  if 
you  do,  at  least  be  kind  and  considerate  enough  not 
to  call,  or  to  write  to  my  friend." 

"Fraulein  Cecilie,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
I  know  where  you  live  so  that,  if  necessary,  I  shall 
be  able  to  communicate  with  you  yourself  without 
delay.  But  I  promise  the  last  part  of  your  re- 
quirement. I  agree  to  communicate  with  you  only, 
and  only  by  letter  or  messenger." 

"Porzellan  street,  No.  58,  door  16,  Herr  Doktor." 

I  took  note  of  the  address.  It  was  within  half 
a  mile  of  my  own  apartments. 

288 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Now,  Fraulein  Cecilie,  do  you  remember  ever  to 
have  heard  Gisela  mention  the  date  of  her  coming 
of  age?" 

"Oh,  yes,  she  has  mentioned  the  date  several 
times." 

"When  is  it?" 

Her  face  hardened. 

"Of  course,  Fraulein  Cecilie,  I  can  ascertain  it  at 
the  cost  of  some  delay  by  writing  to  Cattaro  and 
having  it  looked  up  in  the  birth  register.  This  de- 
lay may  cost  your  friend  dear.  I  am  her  friend, 
Fraulein.  I  know  you  are  her  faithful  and  true 
friend.  If  I  were  seeking  the  information  for  any 
other  purpose  than  her  good,  I  should  not  come  to 
you.  This  is  the  only  further  fact  I  shall  inquire 
for,  now." 

"It  is  June  seventeenth  of  this  year." 

I  took  a  further  note  of  the  date  and  returned  the 
note-book  to  my  pocket.  My  mind  was  again  at 
ease.  There  was  plenty  of  time,  as  the  date  was 
more  than  four  clear  months  away  yet. 

"Have  you  sold  your  rings  yet?" 

She  smiled  calmly. 

"Not  yet.  We  had  a  little  money  between  us  and 
we  have  lived  carefully  and  modestly." 

"Good.  Don't  sell  them.  On  the  first  of  each 
month  you  must  inform  me  what  you  both  have 
used,  and  I  shall  return  you  the  amount  in  money." 

She  looked  at  me  in  blank  surprise,  then  her  face 
hardened  once  more.  She  compressed  her  lips. 

"This  sounds  very  like  something  I  have  heard 
before,  Herr  Doktor!" 

"Yes?" 

"Yes!" 

My  plan  looked  hopeless  for  the  moment. 
289 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"You  are  again  distrusting  me,  Fraulein  Cecilie. 
Why?" 

No  reply. 

"Fraulein,  I  know  Gisela's  situation  from  first 
to  last.  She  needs  support  until  the  day  of  her  ma- 
jority, June  seventeenth.  Unless  she  be  supported 
and  cared  for  up  to  that  date  by  someone  who  has 
her  real  welfare  at  heart,  she  is  in  danger." 

"And  if  it  became  known  that  you  did  so,  would 
she  not  be  in  danger?" 

I  inferred  from  this  question  that  Fraulein  Ceci- 
lie did  not  know  that  Gisela  had  left  Cattaro  to  join 
the  Ingenieur,  or  knowing  it,  had  become  diplo- 
matic. Well,  if  she  did  not  know  it,  it  was  no  part 
of  my  duty  to  inform  her  of  the  fact. 

"How  can  it  ever  become  known,  Fraulein?  I 
shall  never  speak  of  it,  and  I  mean  to  give  you  the 
monthly  sum  in  secret  and  in  actual  cash.  In  fact 
I  not  only  wish  the  matter  to  be  a  secret  as  regards 
others,  but  also  to  be  kept  religiously  from  Gisela's 
knowledge.  How  then  can  it  ever  become  known? 
What  proof  would  her  cousin  or  anyone  have 
that  I  have  furnished  the  means?  I  pay  you  the 
funds  in  secret,  and  it  will  be  you  who  supports 
her  until  that  day." 

"I  can  do  it  without  help,  Herr  Doktor." 

She  replied  less  coldly  but  still  obstinately. 

"Yes,  by  selling  your  rings  and  by  both  of  you 
living  under  privation !  That  is  not  necessary,  nor 
is  it  fair  to  either  of  you.  I  am  not  rich,  but  I  am 
abundantly  able  to  make  both  of  you  comfortable; 
to  make  Gisela  comfortable  because  I — because — 
because  I  am  her  friend ;  to  make  you  also  comfor- 
table because  you  are  her  tried  friend." 

"Do  you  still  love  her?" 

"I — I — Fraulein — that  is — of  the  sad  past.  But 
290 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  am  her  friend — her  friend  as  long  as  I  have 
breath  in  my  body !  And  for  just  as  long,  I  am  a 
friend  of  her  friend!  Believe  me!" 

The  tears  came  to  her  fine  eyes  and  she  took  my 
hand  and  pressed  it  warmly. 

"I  fear  you  no  longer,  Herr  Doktor.  You  must 
forgive  my  distrust,  for  Gisela  has  had  much  rea- 
son— as  you  must  know — and  I  have  been  her  com- 
panion and  confidant — and  I  love  her.  I,  too,  am 
alone  in  the  world, — and  Gisela  is  all  I  have.  For- 
give me,  Herr  Doktor !" 

It  is  often  asserted  by  women  themselves  that 
they  can  never  count  upon  one  another  as  true 
friends.  Ever  since  this  interview  with  Fraulein 
Cecilia  Narishkina  I  have  believed  that  women  in- 
variably find  their  own  sex  as  they  deserve  to  find 
it;  just  as  is  the  case  among  men. 

"So,  then,  Fraulein,  is  it  agreed?" 

"I  suppose  so,  Herr  Doktor.  That  is,  I  will  ac- 
cept enough  for  her.  I  could  not  think  of  taking 
anything  from  you  for  myself." 

I  argued  this  question  from  every  standpoint,  but 
here  I  found  her  iron.  She  thanked  me  sweetly  and 
sincerely,  met  every  argument  courteously  and  con- 
siderately and  her  manner  of  refusal  left  no  sting, 
but  also  not  much  room  for  discussion.  The  most 
I  could  get  her  promise  was  that  if  she  ever  needed 
help  she  would  come  to  me.  For  the  present,  she 
insisted  if  Gisela  were  provided  for,  she  would  have 
left  all  and  more  than  she  needed,  and  they  could 
live  alike. 

She  promised  to  keep  Gisela  in  ignorance  of  the 
new  income  for  the  present  at  least,  all  the  more 
since  she  felt  sure  Gisela  would  not  knowingly  ac- 
cept it.  It  was  agreed  that  we  should  meet  on 
the  first  of  every  month  here  at  Frau  Blum's.  Fur- 

291 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

thermore,  for  the  present,  there  was  to  be  no  men- 
tion of  my  name  to  Gisela,  and  that  should  anything 
untoward  occur,  or  should  either  have  any  illness  or 
any  unwelcome  visitor,  or  meeting,  she  was  to  in- 
form me  at  once  either  in  person  or  by  post. 

"One  more  caution,  Fraulein.  In  those  former 
days  in  Cattaro,  they  succeeded  by  intrigue  and 
falsehood  in  coming  between  Gisela  and  me.  Never 
let  that  occur  again !  Remember  that  I  am  faithful 
to  you  both,  and  no  matter  what  may  be  said  or 
come  up  (we  never  can  surely  know  beforehand, 
can  we?  No  matter  how  careful),  never  judge  me 
without  hearing  me !" 

She  answered  this  with  a  speech  which  I  shall  not 
transcribe  here,  but  which  has  always  been  treas- 
ured, coming  as  it  did  from  a  woman,  who  had  en- 
gaged my  respect. 

I  returned  to  my  duties,  relieved  from  suspense, 
and  it  was  some  days  before  they  again  suffered  in- 
terruption. 


292 


CHAPTER  VII 

THIS  came  from  Cecilie  herself.  I  received  an 
urgent  note  to  meet  her  at  Frau  Blum's,  villa.  For 
such  a  big,  ordinarily  self-possessed  woman,  I 
found  her  in  a  curiously  excited  and  well-nigh  hys- 
terical state. 

Her  first  information  was  that  new  parties,  two 
men  with  their  servant,  had  moved  into  the  hoch- 
parterre,  front,  in  their  house. 

She  would  not  have  paid  much  attention  to  this 
were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  wife  of  the  haus- 
meister  had  joyfully  informed  her  that  they  must 
be  very  rich,  as  having  liked  the  apartment,  they 
had  paid  the  tenant  a  high  price  to  move  out  at 
once,  and  let  them  enter  immediately. 

This  had  seemed  queer,  for  while  the  house  was 
a  fairly  good  one,  it  was  not  one  of  the  modern 
buildings  with  a  lift,  telephones,  fine  hallways  and 
other  conveniences  which  are  so  keenly  sought  by 
such  in  Vienna  as  can  afford  them.  Moreover,  it 
was  not  the  quarterly  moving-time  and  the  people 
voluntarily  dispossessed  would  have  no  easy  task  in 
finding  another  apartment,  so  they  must  have  been 
paid  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  value  of  this  one. 
Later  she  had  noticed  that  one  or  other  of  these 
men  was  invariably  at  home,  and  that  they  seemed 
to  keep  watch  upon  her  and  Gisela. 

She  would  still  have  suspected  nothing  more 
than  the  usual  Viennese  propensity  to  stare,  had  it 
not  been  for  two  subsequent  occurrences.  One  day 
she  was  coming  down  the  stairs,  and  just  before 
reaching  the  bottom  had  stopped  to  tie  her  shoe. 

293 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Hearing  her  name  mentioned  she  had  stolen  to 
the  bottom  step  and  looked  around  the  corner, 
through  a  screen  which  closed  off  the  rear  end  of 
the  main  corridor,  and  saw  the  hausmeister  in  close 
conversation  with  one  of  the  men.  She  could  not 
hear  very  well,  but  heard  enough  to  know  that  she 
and  her  companion  were  their  subject,  and  saw  the 
man  give  the  hausbesorger  what  she  believed  to  be 
a  thousand  crown  note.  Their  conversation  had 
concluded  with  this  and  she  had  slipped  back  up- 
stairs to  the  mezzanine  landing  and  had  waited  ten 
minutes  before  coming  down  again. 

The  following  day  the  hausmeister  had  come  to 
their  apartment  in  the  first  floor  and  had  entered 
with  his  pass-key.  She  and  Gisela  had  gone  out, 
but  their  maid-servant,  hearing  him,  came  out  of 
the  kitchen  and  found  the  hausmeister  in  Gisela's 
room  examining  one  of  her  trunks.  When  the  ser- 
vant had  asked  what  he  was  doing  there  he  had  an- 
swered that  one  of  the  young  ladies  had  asked  him 
to  move  the  trunks  to  the  storage-room.  When  she 
asked  him  why  he  had  not  rung  before  coming  in 
he  said  he  had,  but  had  had  no  answer  and  having 
time  only  then  to  move  the  trunks,  he  had  come  in 
anyhow.  The  maid  had,  then,  told  him  that  the 
whole  thing  was  a  mistake  for  she  positively  knew 
that  her  mistress  was  then  needing  the  things  her 
trunks  contained.  The  hausmeister  had  then  left. 
Later  he  had  apologized  to  her  (Cecilie),  making 
the  excuse  that  he  had  gone  to  their  apartment  by 
mistake,  having  misunderstood  the  number. 

"Is  your  bell  out  of  order?" 

"Not  at  all.  I  tried  it  at  once.  Anna  says  she 
was  in  the  kitchen  and  not  asleep.  She  insists  that 
the  man  lied." 

"Does  Gisela  know  of  this?" 
294 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"No,  poor  dear  child !  She  has  repeatedly  been 
in  such  a  nervous  tension  lately  that  I  did  not 
think  best  to  tell  her  about  it,  unless  I  had  to.  I 
am  worried  about  her,  Herr  Doktor.  She  is  less 
and  less  her  sweet  natural  self  every  day." 

"How  does  she  behave?" 

"She  seems  in  a  state  of  half  trance  a  good  deal 
of  the  time.  Sometimes  she  is  nervous  and  breaks 
out  over  the  most  trivial  thing.  But  most  of  the 
time  she  has  a  perfectly  immobile  face  and  often 
does  not  hear  me  when  I  speak  to  her." 

I  did  not  underrate  the  significance  of  the  mat- 
ters Cecilie  had  related.  It  had  occurred  to  me  sev- 
eral times  during  the  last  few  days  that  Lubitza 
and  the  Ingenieur  were  probably  not  idle.  They  had 
too  much  at  stake,  and  Lubitza  too  much  feeling. 
If  I  had  allowed  matters  to  drag,  it  had  been  merely 
because  I  felt  I  had  a  sure  card  for  the  playing  of 
which  there  was  plenty  of  time ;  not  because  I  un- 
derrated their  determination. 

Now,  however,  it  was  clear  that  they  were  mak- 
ing another  move  of  some  sort,  and  furthermore 
that  they  had  enlisted  the  dangerous  help  of  the 
hausbesorger.  Now  the  girls  could  never  move  out, 
start  on  a  journey,  or  even  leave  the  house,  without 
these  watchers  being  aware  of  it.  I  guessed  that 
the  hausmeister's  visit  to  the  apartment  had  been 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  look  at  the  trunks  so 
that  he  would  know  them  if  they  should  be  removed 
from  the  house,  say  by  dienstmen. 

The  Viennese  hausmeister  is,  as  a  rule,  very  faith- 
ful to  his  charge  but  exceptions  occur. 

What  should  I  do  about  it  ?  We  could  go  to  the 
owner  of  the  building  and  expose  the  fellow  and  the 
owner  might  or  might  not  turn  him  off  and  have 
him  punished,  but  neither  we  nor  the  hausherr 

295 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

himself  could  put  out  the  new  occupants  of  the 
apartment.  They  would  stay  on,  and  the  thing 
would  repeat  itself,  more  secretly  ne^ct  time. 

Moreover,  they  would  be  in  the  same  house  with 
the  girls,  and  while  it  would  not  be  easy,  still  it 
was  possible  that  various  sorts  of  deviltry  might 
be  attempted  or  even  carried  out.  What  their  plan 
was  I  could  not  guess.  To  watch  her,  of  course; 
I  was  sure  that  was  not  all. 

What  they  might  do  was  not  the  worst  of  my 
fears.  The  very  fact  of  espionage  could  not  long 
be  kept  from  Gisela  and  if  she  were  in  the  mental 
state  which  Cecilie  had  described,  I  feared  the  re- 
sult when  it  should  come  to  her  knowledge.  Above 
all,  I  feared  she  might  precipitately  leave  Vienna 
and  bury  herself  somewhere  where  neither  Cecilie 
nor  I  could  find  and  help  her.  It  was  clear  that  I 
must  act. 

I  paced  the  floor  and  thought.  The  only  solu- 
tion that  occurred  to  me  was  not  free  from  objec- 
tions but  since  it  was  the  only  one,  it  was  neces- 
sarily the  best  one,  and  having  ever  the  last  card 
in  mind,  I  felt  that  it  did  not  matter  how  the  ones 
before  it  fell — and  this  very  careless  viewpoint  con- 
stituted the  capital  mistake  that  prevented  me  from 
keeping  a  closer  observation  and  foreseeing  the  un- 
told misery  which  was  destined  to  ensue  later  on. 
Cecilie  was  watching  me  nervously  with  her  great 
eyes. 

"Cecilie,  do  you  trust  me  now  ?" 
"Oh,  yes,  Herr  Doktor !" 
"You  are  willing,  then,  to  do  as  I  suggest?" 
"Only  tell  me  what  to  do,  Herr  Doktor !" 
I  explained  my  fears  to  her,  and  then  said : 
"I  see  only  one  thing  to  do.    You  two  must  move 
296 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 


to  my  own  house.  My  former  landlady  has  three 
apartments  on  the  first  floor.  She  rents  two  of 
them,  and  it  happens  just  now,  that  she  has  three 
unoccupied  rooms, — all  together.  It  will  be  a  little 
more  cramped  than  you  have  had,  but  the  house  is 
modern,  and  above  all,  you  will  be  safe  there.  We 
will  just  turn  the  tables  on  these  people;  for  in  my 
house  /  have  the  hochparterre  front,  and  for  any 
good  purpose  the  hausmeister  and  his  wife  are  my 
slaves.  They  will  not  bribe  my  hausmeister,  nor 
will  anybody  ever  trouble  you  in  that  house.  I  shall 
see  to  that !  The  rooms  1  mean  for  you  are  on  the 
first  floor,  front.  They  are  sunny,  comfortable  and 
quiet,  and  the  landlady  is  a  good  friend  of  mine 
and  one  of  the  best  women  in  Vienna.  Moreover, 
she  also  is  a  Dalmatian  woman,  herself  coming  from 
not  far  from  Cattaro,  and  Gisela  will  find,  in  her, 
a  fellow-countrywoman  and  friend.  Will  you 
come  ?" 

"Oh,  Herr  Doktor,  at  once,  if  I  have  the  decis- 
ion !  But  of  course  Gisa  must  consent." 

"Certainly.  Now,  of  course,  Gisela  must  be  in- 
formed that  you  know  me — we  can  no  longer  con- 
c£al  that.  But  she  need  not  know  that  I  am  helping 
her  with  money.  All  she  needs  to  know  is,  that  you 
have  known  me  some  time  and  that  I  shall  from 
now  on  be  the  protector  of  both  of  you.  I  shall 
leave  it  to  your  woman's  wit  to  explain  why  you 
have  not  told  her  sooner.  Then  you  must  tell  her 
the  things  you  have  told  me  to-day.  She  will  have  to 
be  told  in  order  to  understand  the  need  of  moving 
at  once.  If  she  will  consent,  pack  to-night,  and 
move  tomorrow." 

"They  will  know  that  we  come  to  your  house  ?" 

"Of  course  they  will.  They  will  follow  and 
make  sure  of  it.  Don't  make  the  slightest  attempt  at 

297 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

concealment.  Don't  tell  anybody  where  you  are  go- 
ing ;  it  is  nobody's  business  but  your  own ;  but  move 
openly  in  the  most  matter-of-fact  every-day  man- 
ner. Give  your  landlady  notice  to-morrow  morning, 
and  pay  your  rent  for  the  full  two  weeks'  notice 
time  in  advance,  with  an  extra  hundred  crown 
note.  Then  it  will  be  none  of  your  landlady's  busi- 
ness either." 

"I  will  do  just  as  you  say,  if  Gisa  will  consent" 

"Very  well.  Go  and  consult  her  at  once  and  I 
will  go  home  and  speak  for  the  rooms.  I  will  meet 
you  at  six  o'clock  sharp  in  the  Cafe  Schwarzspan- 
ierhof.  Do  you  know  it?  Very  well,  at  six  sharp. 
Then  you  can  give  me  your  and  Gisela's  decision, 
and  your  new  landlady  will  prepare  for  and  ex- 
pect you  some  time  tomorrow." 

She  started  for  the  door,  but  turned  back. 

"If  Gisa  should  be  afraid  to  leave,  could  you  not 
come  and  be  present  when  we  go?" 

"Yes,  if  you  like,  but  there  will  be  no  trouble 
about  leaving  in  broad  daylight.  The  fellows  will 
not  trouble  you.  They  will  only  follow.  Let  them. 
I'll  guarantee  that  their  following  will  end  at  our 
door — or  sooner!" 

She  flew  down  the  steps  and  I  went  home  to  en- 
gage the  rooms.  I  found  my  former  landlady  a 
sympathetic  listener  and  when  I  left  her,  I  was  cer- 
tain that  anybody  who  attempted  to  trouble  them, 
once  they  were  under  her  wing,  would  have  a  deter- 
mined woman  to  deal  with. 

In  the  meantime  I  decided  to  make  a  bold  attempt 
to  learn  what  the  plans  of  these  men  had  been.  If 
they  wanted  open  war,  they  should  have  it. 

At  six  I  found  Cecilie  waiting  for  me.  She  said 
that  Gisela  had  turned  the  color  of  blood  at  the  news 

298 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

of  our  acquaintanceship  but  had  told  her  to  carry 
to  me  her  greetings  and  thanks.  Gisela  had  been 
exasperated  and  frightened  at  the  news,  and  was 
anxious  to  move  at  once.  They  had  decided  to  fol- 
low the  plan  as  I  had  arranged  it,  and  would  leave 
their  house  at  three  o'clock  the  following  afternoon. 

"By  the  way,  what  name  does  Gisela  use  ?" 

"Her  own,  to  be  sure !" 

"Tomanovich  ?" 

"No.    Portulan." 

So  she  had  not  used  a  false  name. 

"How  did  it  happen  that  I  could  not  find  her  in 
the  police  bureau  last  Christmas  week?" 

"Oh,"  said  Cecilie  with  a  smile,  "she  did  not  fill 
out  and  send  the  police  slip  for  nearly  ten  weeks 
after  arriving." 

"Did  her  landlady  not  get  fined  ?" 

"Oh,  yes.  Gisela  and  I  clubbed  together  and  paid 
it." 

"Well,  lock  your  doors  to-night  and  do  not  go 
out." 

I  followed  her,  and  entered  the  house  about  ten 
minutes  after  she  had  disappeared  within.  My  plan 
was  simple.  I  meant  to  have  a  look  at  the  men,  and 
was  in  no  mood  for  strategy.  I  went  to  their  door 
and  rang.  A  servant  opened  and  I  promptly  pushed 
by  her  and  walked  into  the  first  lighted  room.  As 
soon  as  I  entered  I  found  myself  face  to  face  with 
no  less  a  person  than  Baron  Ascher.  Of  course 
this  rencontre  surprised  me  no  little  but  it  so 
promptly  established  the  connection  between  this 
little  menage  and  Lubitza's  party  that  instant  rage 
and  hatred  left  little  time  for  my  surprise  to  be 
noticed,  I  was  sure.  He  rose  up  in  astonishment. 

"Ah,   Herr   Doktor!     To  what  am   I  indebted 

for" 

299 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  raised  my  hand  and  he  was  silent. 

"You  must  be  hard  pressed  for  money,  Baron! 
Or  is  there  more  than  one  reason  for  this  enter- 
prise? Hereafter  you  will  have  me  to  deal  with 
instead  of  a  couple  of  women !" 

With  this  I  left  his  apartment  and  sought  the 
one  of  the  hausebesorger.  His  door  stood  open  and 
I  walked  in,  closed  the  door  behind  me  and  locked 
it.  He  was  sitting  at  table  in  his  kitchen  disposing 
of  a  tumbler  of  wine  and  a  plate  of  some  strong- 
smelling  thing  or  other.  His  wife,  if  he  had  one, 
was  absent.  He  was  a  round-headed,  rather  jovial- 
faced  man.  I  pushed  his  plate  away  and  pulled 
him,  in  his  chair,  away  from  the  table.  I  looked 
him  in  the  eye  and  he  grinned  uncertainly. 

"How  much  has  that  fellow  across  the  hall  paid 
you  to  spy  upon  two  women  here  in  the  house  ?  It 
was  a  thousand-crown  note,  wasn't  it?" 

He  gathered  himself  together  a  little. 

"A  thousand  crown  note!  I  haven't  even  seen 
such  a  thing  in  fifteen  years !" 

"Look  you,  my  fine  fellow !  You  were  seen  to  re- 
ceive it  by  a  person  who  was  coming  down  the 
stairs,  and  a  part  of  your  conversation  was  heard. 
It  was  out  there  in  the  back  corridor.  You  will 
gain  nothing  by  denying  it !  Now  that  is  a  high 
price  to  pay  for  merely  spying.  What  else  were 
you  to  do  for  this  money?" 

He  grew  red  with  rage  and  I  saw  him  measure 
me  with  his  eye.  I  reached  for  his  knife  and  fork 
and  threw  them  into  the  other  end  of  the  room. 

"You  keep  still  in  your  chair  or  I'll  twist  out  both 
of  your  arms !  What  else  were  you  to  do  ?  Sit 
back  in  your  chair !  So ! — What  else  was  there  ?" 

"Well,  there  wasn't  much  more.  They  wanted  a 
key  to  the  house-door," 

300 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Ah!  A  key  to  the  street  door.  Well,  did  you 
furnish  it?" 

"Yes." 

"When  was  that?" 

"About  ten  days  ago." 

"A  house  door  key  is  worth  three  crowns,  and 
the  privilege  of  having  it  six  crowns  a  month.  It 
was  still  high  pay.  What  else  were  you  to  do  ?" 

He  started  to  make  a  spring  at  me,  but  he  was 
very  slow;  also  he  was  fifty  and  I  was  twenty-six 
and  not  a  drinker  of  "heuriger."  I  was  on  him 
before  he  had  half  risen  and  readily  got  him  from 
behind  by  both  arms,  bearing  him  down  with  my 
weight.  I  twisted  one  of  his  arms  across  his  back. 
The  chair  slipped  out  from  under  him  and  he  sunk 
in  a  sort  of  ball  on  to  the  floor  with  me  on  top 
of  him.  I  pulled  the  arm  a  little  higher. 

"If  you  yell,  I'll  twist  your  arm  clear  out,  Mr. 
Hausbesorger !  Quiet  now !  What  else  were  you 
to  do  for  those  fellows !" 

"I  can't  tell  you — while — you  are  hurting  me  so !" 

I  let  him  go  and  stood  up. 

"I  will  tell  you  all  about  it,  gnadiger  Herr,  but  I 
beg  your  mercy.  It  will  ruin  my  chance  for  em- 
ployment forever  if  it  be  told." 

"You  will  lose  nothing  by  being  straight-forward 
and  you  will  lose  everything  if  you  be  not." 

He  ceased  rubbing  his  shoulder  and  looked  up  at 
me. 

"I  did  not  want  to  do  it,  gnadiger  Herr,  but  they 
had  already  given  me  the  thousand  crown  note  and 
promised  that  they  would  give  me  four  thousand 
more  after  the  thing  was  done,  and  to  protect  me 
from  harm.  He  is  a  baron  and  I  had  heard  of  him 
before  and  I  thought  he  could  do  it." 

"Well?" 

301 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Well,  gnadiger  Herr,  the  baron  said  he  was  in 
love  with  the  smaller  lady,  and  wanted  to  take  her 
away  some  night  after  the  house  door  was  closed. 
I  was  not  to  help  but  only  to  keep  in  my  apartment 
and  not  to  hear  or  see  anything." 

"How  were  they  going  to  do  it?" 

"I  don't  know,  gnadiger  Herr.  But  the  big  wom- 
an often  goes  to  the  opera  and  they  often  let  their 
maid  servant  go  in  the  evenings.  The  smaller  wom- 
an is  often  at  home  alone  after  ten.  I  suppose  they 
had  a  way  to  manage.  That  apartment  is  rather  de- 
tached and  this  is  an  old  house  with  solid  stone 
floors,  not  like  the  flimsy  buildings  they  are  putting 
up  now." 

It  had  been  a  very  pretty  little  plan  and  with 
only  a  little  invention  and  address,  no  doubt  it 
would  have  succeeded.  I  was  fairly  mad  to  file  in- 
formation with  the  police  against  Ascher  and  his 
companion,  but  it  was  not  to  be  thought  of  until 
the  girls  were  safely  out  of  the  house  and  possibly 
not  then  for  a  while.  Any  compromising  of  them 
would  be  too  readily  seized  upon,  and  I  did  not 
care  to  invite  this  needlessly  even  if  we  did  hold 
the  final  winning  card. 

But  rage  finally  gave  way  to  congratulation.  The 
success  of  their  plan  would  have  settled  the  whole 
question,  without  a  doubt.  As  it  was  now,  we 
could  laugh  at  them. 

The  moving  was  accomplished  without  incident, 
the  following  afternoon,  and  the  presence  of  my- 
self and  the  police  officer  down  at  the  corner  was 
not  needed.  In  the  evening,  when  our  hausbe- 
sorger  admitted  me,  he  informed  me  that  they  were 
safely  installed  in  their  new  home. 


302 


CHAPTER  VIII 

I  DID  not  even  see  either  of  them  until  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  for  the  days  at  the  hospital  were  busy 
ones  at  this  time.  That  morning  I  received  a  note 
from  Cecilie  inviting  me  to  tea  at  five  o'clock.  Up 
to  this  time  I  had  taken  care  to  avoid  the  inevitable 
meeting  mainly  because  I  felt  it  would  be  difficult, 
and  besides  if  they  wanted  me  I  wished  them  to 
send  for  me.  But  of  course  it  had  to  come,  and 
Cecilie  or  both  of  them  had  known  the  best  way. 
There  is  nothing  like  a  tea-tray  for  smoothing  over 
a  difficult  interview,  a  fact  with  which  women  seem 
very  generally  to  be  acquainted.  I  hunted  out  Lu- 
bitza's  old  letter  and  put  it  into  my  pocket. 

Cecilie  received  me  and  wrung  both  of  my  hands. 

"Well,  you  are  yourself  again,  I  see." 

"We  both  seem  to  be,  thanks  to  you.  Gisela 
went  out  at  three  and  has  not  returned,  but  I  am  ex- 
pecting her  every  minute.  We  will  wait  a  little 
for  her." 

"I  am  glad  she  is  not  here  yet,  for  I  have  some- 
thing important  to  tell  you.  This  affair  was  far 
more  serious  than  we  were  thinking." 

I  had  debated  the  question  of  informing  them  of 
the  abduction  plan,  but  had  decided  that  Cecilie, 
at  least,  must  know  it ;  for  what  had  miscarried  this 
time  might  succeed  on  the  street,  or  at  some  fa- 
vorable opportunity.  Now  that  Gisela  was  under 
the  same  roof  with  me  and  removed  from  attack 
while  at  home,  I  conceived  that  Lubitza  might  take 
even  a  more  desperate  risk.  So,  amid  plenty  of  sur- 

303 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

prise  and  many  exclamations,  I  acquainted  her  with 
their  intentions. 

"Now,  Cecilie,  I  think  Gisela  must  be  informed. 
Let  her  continue  to  believe  that  you  are  supporting 
her,  but  tell  her  all  the  rest.  .  She  has  a  right  to 
know  and  it  is  also  safer  so.  I  shall  also  explain 
the  situation  to  your  landlady  so  she  will  be  care- 
ful about  visitors  when  you  are  not  at  home." 

"Very  well.     I'll  tell  her,  Herr  Doktor." 

"I  have  arranged  with  our  hausmeister  to  report 
to  me  anything  that  attracts  his  attention,  and  I 
myself  am  on  the  ground  floor.  No  girl  will  be 
stolen  from  the  house,  at  least.  Gisela's  only  risk, 
now,  is  when  she  is  out." 

"I  shall  try  always  to  go  with  her,  especially  in 
the  evenings." 

"Good.  And  always  have  the  hausmeister  order 
your  carriage.  I  have  arranged  this  with  him.  If 
you  are  downtown  in  the  evening  and  must  take  a 
carriage,  be  careful  never  to  take  one  whose  driver 
solicits  you.  Never  allow  anybody,  man  or  wom- 
an, to  cause  you  to  enter  a  carriage  or  a  building 
or  to  alter  your  plans,  under  any  excuse.  How 
about  your  housemaid?  Who  and  what  is  she?" 

"We  brought  her  from  the  other  place." 

"Discharge  her  at  once!  Pay  her  in  full  for 
your  agreed  notice,  but  let  her  go  at  once — tomor- 
row. Get  your  landlady  to  find  you  a  maid  she 
knows.  You  can  go  a  day  or  two  without  a  ser- 
vant. Then,  when  your  new  maid  comes,  don't  give 
her  her  nights  out.  She  is  entitled  to  every  other 
Sunday  but  give  her  no  more.  Then  she  won't 
have  so  much  chance  to  make  acquaintances.  Give 
her  an  extra  five-crown  piece  once  a  week.  She 
will  be  only  too  satisfied  with  that" 

A  merry  laugh  interrupted  this.  I  looked  around 
304 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

toward  the  door  to  the  next  room  and  saw  Gisela's 
bright  face,  near  by  once  jnore,  after  more  than 
two  years. 

I  had  prepared  and  steeled  myself  for  this  mo- 
ment, but  not  to  much  purpose.  I  was  unable  to 
speak  to  or  greet  her.  The  false  indifference  which 
I  had  managed  to  manufacture  during  our  long 
separation  was  roughly  torn  aside,  as  I  sub-con- 
sciously had  known  it  would  be.  Her  own  face 
grew  grave  as  she  came  up  and  took  my  hand,  I 
felt  sure  she  had  misunderstood  the  cause  of  my 
silence,  but  it  could  not  be  helped  just  now. 

She  scarcely  looked  older,  though  a  little  care- 
worn. After  her  first  laugh  I  saw  her  face  take  on 
that  immobility  of  expression  which  Cecilie  had 
described. 

"Welcome,  Doctor  Ransome !  We  have  much  to 
thank  you  for,  and  thanking  you  will  be  a  pleasure." 

"A  thousand  welcomes,  Signorina!  I  am  going 
to  make  it  my  business  to  stand  by  you  now.  Believe 
me,  I  would  have  done  so  sooner  if  I  had  known  it 
was  needed." 

"Thank  you,  Signor.  I  hope  we  shall  not  prove 
too  troublesome." 

"For  your  sake,  not  my  own,  I  can  second  that 
wish." 

"Come,  let  us  have  tea,"  interrupted  Cecilie. 

We  seated  ourselves  around  the  little  table. 

"Sugar,  Herr  Doktor?" 

"I  need  much  sweetening,  as  my  old  acquaint- 
ances always  insist." 

"We  all  do.  I  need  it  most  when  I  start  to  but- 
ton up  my  waist." 

"And  I  when  I  am  in  a  hurry  and  find  that  I 
have  tied  my  necktie  with  one  end  longer  than  the 
other." 

305 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I,  when  a  shoe  string  breaks,"  said  Gisela. 

"What  happens  then?" 

"The  same  thing  that  happens  when  your  neck- 
tie ends  are  found  to  be  uneven,  Signor." 

"Really?" 

"She  starts  to  sing/'  said  Cecilie. 

"To  sing!    Hum — then  it  is  not  the  same!" 

"Gisela  sings  whenever  she  is  at  a  loss  for 
words;  sings  in  her  sleep,  too!" 

"Why,  Cecilie!" 

"She  is  just  like  any  song  bird.  I  love  it!"  Gisela 
gave  her  a  hug  and  a  kiss. 

"Ah,  Herr  Doktor,  you  would  not  believe  how 
patient  Cecilie  is  with  me!" 

"I  have  not  noticed  the  hardship.  No  doubt  Gisa 
has  to  be  patient  sometimes,  too." 

"By  the  way,  Cecilie,  you  are  a  singer,  too,  are 
you  not?  Tell  me  something  of  your  work." 

She  told  her  short  story.  Lubitza's  gay  recital 
had  been  that  of  the  successful  human  song-bird. 
Cecilie's  portrayed  the  other  side.  Her  story  was 
cheerful  and  matter-of-fact,  looking  for  no  sym- 
pathy— a  simple  tale  of  a  brave  struggle  which  up 
to  now  had  failed,  but  which  would  be  kept  up  until 
either  success  or  failure  would  be  assured. 

"Have  you  tried  in  Berlin?" 

"Oh,  yes,  a  long  time  ago.  But  I  am  better  now. 
I  have  been  promised  a  chance  at  a  full  dress  re- 
hearsal there  in  May,  and  I  shall  stop  there  for 
that  purpose  on  my  way  home." 

"I  hope  you  will  be  engaged,  Cecilie.  You  are 
going  to  leave  us  in  May,  then  ?" 

"Yes,  Herr  Doktor.     I  shall  leave  Vienna  with 

regret,  but  a  foreigner  has  to  be  pretty  nearly  at 

the  top  to  start  with  before  she  has  any  chance 

against  their  local  jealousies  here.    If  I  be  engaged 

306 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

at  Berlin  I  shall  be  there  next  season.  Now,  Herr 
Doktor,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  excuse  me  for  a 
half  hour.  I  am  sorry  to  be  so  discourteous,  but 
I  have  an  urgent  letter  to  write  which  must  be 
posted  this  evening.  As  soon  as  that  is  attended  to 
I  shall  return.  I  wish  to  see  you  a  moment  before 
you  go,  so  please  wait  for  me — won't  you?" 

I  perfectly  understood  the  transparent  excuse 
and  her  motives  for  it.  If  Gisela  had  misunder- 
stood my  silence  at  her  entrance  and  the  reasons 
for  it,  I  felt  certain  that  Cecilie,  the  onlooker,  had 
not. 

But  her  action  suited  my  wishes.  The  Ingenieur 
stood  between  Gisela  and  me.  Still,  although  that 
fact  might  never  be  explained  satisfactorily  (and 
I  determined  never  to  broach  it  to  her)  there  still 
remained  much  to  clear  up  between  us.  She  should 
know  how  Lubitza  had  befooled  me  with  her  let- 
ter ;  learn  that  I  had  not  played  love  in  Cattaro  but 
had  been  true,  as  I  now  knew  she  had  not  played. 
The  half  hour  would  be  sufficient  for  that  much, 
and  the  rest  could  keep. 

Cecilie  left  the  room  and  Gisela  and  I  looked  at 
each  other  in  silence.  If  either  could  have  smiled 
— I  bethought  me  of  one  of  Harry's  aphorisms: 
"When  in  doubt,  smile!" — but  I  could  not,  and 
Gisela  did  not.  My  tongue,  usually  a  very  faithful 
member,  failed  me  again  to-day.  No  diplomatic 
start  would  come.  Gisela  began  to  grow  crimson 
and  bent  her  head  over  her  tea-cup.  It  must  have 
been  three  minutes  or  more  before  anything  was 
said  by  either.  Realizing  that  this  would  never  do, 
I  forced  out  the  first  words  that  came  into  my 
head,  bluntly  and  uncleverly. 

"Signorina,  I  did  not  ask  Cecilie  to  do  so,  but  I 
have  an  idea  she  has  left  us  because  she  thought  I 
307 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

wished  it.  Well,  I  am  glad,  for  I  have  something 
to  tell  you.  I  saw  Lubitza  recently,  and  happened 
to  light  upon  the  curious  mistake  which,  as  I  think, 
was  what  came  between  you  and  me  in  Cattaro." 

With  my  beginning  she  grew  still  higher  in  color, 
and  drooped  her  head  still  more;  but  the  instant  I 
uttered  her  cousin's  name,  her  face  paled  again, 
and  she  raised  her  head  and  faced  me.  Now  again 
her  face  was  wearing  that  impassive  mask  which 
accorded  so  ill  with  her  natural  brightness  and  vi- 
vacity. This  impassive  expression  was  not  like 
Lubitza's  calmness  under  stress,  but  curiously  re- 
called it,  with  a  difference.  The  thought  came  to 
me,  in  this  trying  moment,  that  this  power  of  put- 
ting on  a  mask  had  probably  come  down  to  both 
cousins  as  a  heritage  from  their  old  time  Venetian 
great-grandmother,  who,  unless  history  was  very 
untruthful,  must  so  often  have  needed  it.  The 
chief  difference  between  Lubitza's  and  Gisela's 
masks,  seemed  to  be  that  in  Gisela's  case  the  mask 
was  involuntary.  Moreover  Lubitza's  mask  fitted 
her  temperament ;  Gisela's  did  not,  at  all. 

After  a  wait,  Gisela  answered,  now  looking  into 
her  tea-cup  again: — 

"I  think  that  perhaps  the  least  we  talk  of  those 
days,  the  better,  Herr  Doktor.  You  seem  to  be  my 
friend  now,  and  I  can  not  say  that  you  have  ever 
been  otherwise  than  a  good  friend.  I  would  rather 
just  take  you  so,  and  never  recall  those  other  days." 

Of  course  my  understanding  of  Gisela  was 
limited — I  had  loved,  and  did  love  her;  but  I  had 
known  her  hardly  at  all.  Therefore  it  is  not  alto- 
gether to  be  wondered  at  that  my  reasoning  strayed 
far  afield  when  I  heard  this  answer.  I  assumed, 
simply,  that  she  did  not  desire  an  explanation  to 
occur  between  us.  She  realized,  I  thought,  that 
308 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

if  I 'cleared  up  my  side  of  our  misunderstanding,  I 
would  expect  a  like  return  from  her;  and  this  she 
could  not  give, — could  not  afford  to  give ; — and  she 
was  grandly  above  mere  falsehood.  And  so,  I 
believed,  she  preferred  to  begin  anew; — as  mere 
friends.  Of  course  any  love  she  may  have  had  for 
me  in  those  days  had,  long  since,  been  forgotten. 
Certainly!  Thus,  such  a  position,  on  her  part, 
should  not  surprise  me. 

But  it  was  not  in  my  human  nature  to  remain 
silent,  and  in  the  wrong, — however  silent  I  might 
be  after  the  correction. 

"Signorina,  be  assured  that  I  shall  never  use  my 
new  position  with  you  as  a  means  of  intrusion, 
unless  I  feel  that  it  must  be  so  for  some  good 
reason  or  other.  I  can,  and  shall  be,  your  faithful 
friend  without  a  further  word  of  the  past.  Above 
all  I  am  not  going  to  ask  about  a  single  particular 
of  your  life  which  you  feel  to  be  none  of  my  affair, 
or  which  you  choose,  for  any  reason,  to  withhold 
from  me.  I  ask  no  explanation  from  you.  I  only 
meant  to  speak  of  a  matter  which  affects  me  only." 

I  could  not  say  that  her  expression  was  unkind — 
still  less  was  it  repellant.  Even  in  high  anger  her 
face  had  not  been  the  latter.  Neither  could  I  see 
any  signs  of  softening  in  the  mask  she  wore.  She 
only  gazed  at  me  silently. 

"Have  I  your  permission  to  proceed,  Signorina?" 

"You  have  already  said  you  were  unwilling  to 
intrude  unless  for  a  good  reason.  I  infer,  then, 
that  your  subject  is  an  urgent  one.  Certainly,  then 
— proceed,  Herr  Doktor." 

"It  is  urgent,  as  a  matter  of  common  justice  to 
me.  You  will  remember  that  you  left  me  in  seem- 
ing great  anger  at  our  last  meeting  in  the  cathedral. 
I  thought  at  the  time  and  still  believe  it  was  more 
309 


The   'Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

fright  than  anger,  and  that  if  nothing  else  unfor- 
tunate had  happened  in  the  meantime,  our  next 
meeting  would  have  been  at  least  a  kind  one.  Am 
I  right?" 

"Quite  right,  Herr  Doktor.     And?" 

"At  our  next  next  and  final  meeting  at  the  door 
of  your  room,  you  sent  me  away  in  terms  that  left 
no  choice  but  obedience." 

"I  remember.     Well?" 

"Therefore,  something  had  happened  in  the 
meantime.  Now  furthermore,  in  sending  me 
finally  away,  you  used  words  which  I  utterly  failed 
to  understand,  but  which  I  never  forgot.  They 
were:  'Falser  than  the  very  Shades  themselves.  Go 
to  my  cousin.  You  were  made  for  each  other  and 
it  would  be  a  sin  to  keep  you  apart.' " 

"I  said  more  than  I  should; — more  than  hos- 
pitality should  have  permitted.  But  I  was  highly 
wrought  up.  That  must  be  my  excuse.  For  the 
rest,  it — Signor,  need  we  go  further?" 

"A  little  more  and  I  have  done.  I  know,  now, 
Signorina,  both  the  reason  for,  and  the  significance 
of,  your  words;  but  I  did  not  then.  At  that  time 
they  amazed  me  beyond  your  belief ;  for  while  you, 
believing  as  you  did,  were  not  unjustified,  yet  I 
was  innocent  of  the  cause." 

There  was  no  answer  to  this — only  the  mask 
greeted  me;  beautiful,  but  a  mask. 

I  continued. 

"Of  course  the  reason  for  it  all  was,  that  Teresa 
found  and  showed  you  a  letter  which  Lubitza  had 
received  from  me." 

"Not  quite  correct,  Herr  Doktor.  My  cousin 
brought  it  to  me  herself." 

"I  am  not  surprised.  I  only  know,  up  to  now, 
what  Lubitza  chose  to  tell  me.  Signorina,  that  let- 
310 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

ter  was  never  meant  for  Lubitza.  In  writing  it,  I 
supposed  I  was  writing  to  you.  I  had  received  a 
letter  which  I  thought  had  come  from  you.  You 
remember  how  we  had  parted  at  the  cathedral.  I 
was  more  than  half  expecting  a  letter  from  you 
when  you  should  get  over  your  fright.  Such  a  let- 
ter came — I  thought  it  was  from  you.  True,  it 
was  not  the  kind  of  a  letter  I  was  expecting — exact- 
ly— and  it  puzzled  me — but  I  believed  it  was  from 
you,  and  I  was  relieved  and  glad  to  have  any  line 
at  all  from  you.  The  letter  you  read  was  my  an- 
swer, sent  back  by  the  bearer,  who  I  thought  was 
Teresa — the  letter  had  been  given  to  a  waiter  in 
the  Dojmi.  I  thought  it  would  go  straight  to  you." 

The  mask  at  least  was  gone,  and  in  its  place 
reigned  first  an  incredulous  astonishment,  and  fol- 
lowing that,  settled  incredulity  itself. 

"I  do  not  expect  you  to  accept  this  explanation 
without  taking  a  little  time  to  think  it  over,  and  to 
examine  the  letters.  It  took  me  quite  a  few  mo- 
ments to  realize  it,  and  I  was  in  a  better  position 
to  understand  than  you  are  just  now.  Lubitza  told 
me  you  had  kept  the  letter  she  had  received.  Was 
this  true?" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  still  have  it." 

"It's  real  owner  is  in  possession  of  it  then. 
Here  is  the  letter  I  received." 

She  took  the  letter  with  a  half  quizzical  smile 
and  read  it  through,  still  in  clear  scepticism. 

"The  hand-writing  does  not  even  resemble 
mine." 

"I  had  never  seen  the  script  of  either  of  you." 

"Not  a  word  of  apology  from  me.  Not  a  refer- 
ence to  anything  we  had  in  common !" 

"I  have  already  told  you,  Signorina,  that  the 
letter  puzzled  me.  But  I  took  the  mere  fact  of 


The    Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

your  writing  at  all  as  apology  enough,  and  the  lack 
of  reference  to  anything  in  common  as  mere  cau- 
tion on  your  part.  Now,  Signorina,  please  recall 
that  our  final  parting  was  the  next  thing  that  oc- 
curred between  us.  Now  you  will  understand  my 
amazement  and  why  I  looked  upon  you  as  a  vacil- 
lating, whimsical  and  undependable  woman  whom 
it  were  better  to  forget  if  I  could.  So  I  left  Cat- 
taro — with  no  further  attempt  to  see  you." 

"If  you  were  writing  to  me,  what  did  you  mean 
by  the  'little  arrangement'  you  mentioned?" 

"Our  arrangement  to  exchange  letters  through 
the  banker." 

"Oh !  But  in  this  letter  my  cousin  also  speaks  of 
an  'arrangement.'  What  was  that?" 

This  was  a  question  which  had  worried  me  in 
advance.  My  careless  words  to  Lubitza  had  meant 
nothing  whatever,  more  than  a  joking  half-assent 
in  order  to  get  rid  of  her.  But  I  felt  it  would  be 
difficult  to  get  Gisela  to  understand  this,  especially 
as  I  felt  a  delicacy  about  relating  Lubitza's  open 
invitation  to  an  intrigue.  And  yet  I  had  not  seen 
my  way  to  an  evasion  either  of  the  question  or  the 
answer. 

Gisela  saw  my  hesitation. 

"Never  mind,  Herr  Doktor.  I  understand.  You 
are  like  other  men; — that  is  all.  Do  not  trouble  to 
answer."  And  she  crushed  the  letter  and  threw 
it  from  her. 

"Signorina,  I  must  answer  in  justice  to  myself. 
If  I  hesitated  it  was  through  no  guilty  conscience 
but  because  I  have  read  unbelief,  constantly,  in 
your  face.  This  makes  it  difficult  for  me,  but 
nevertheless  I  must  have  the  matter  out  with  you. 

Your  cousin  did  invite  me  to  come  and  call 
when  she  would  come  to  Vienna.  I  could  not  re- 
312 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

fuse  off-hand,  Signorina.  I  had  called  at  your 
house  in  Perzagno  and  could  not  refuse  her  the 
code  of  courtesy.  I  agreed  to  call  in  Vienna;  that 
was  all  there  was  of  any  'arrangement'  as  far  as 
I  was  aware.  I  meant,  if  I  should  keep  my  word 
at  all,  to  make  a  mere  formal  call — as  formal  as 
possible.  I  had  no  wish  for  even  a  word  with  your 
cousin!  Were  my  friend  Harry  McClellan  here  he 
could  tell  you  how  I  was  thinking  only  of  you 
those  days,  for  I  kept  nothing  from  him." 

"And  you  went  to  see  her — not  quite  formally, 
for  your  interview  seems  to  have  had  a  confidential 
tendency.  Otherwise  how  did  the  the  truth  of  the 
letters  come  out  so  thoroughly?" 

Again  she  had  me,  this  time  where  no  answer  or 
evasion  was  possible.  Her  mind  was  not  idle  just 
now.  She  was  doing  her  own  thinking,  and  had  a 
most  perverse  way  of  sticking  to  the  point.  There 
remained  nothing  to  do  but  to  close  this  avenue  of 
catechism  under  as  dignified  a  retreat  as  possible. 

"Remember  your  last  words  to  me,  Signorina. 
You  had  sent  me  finally  away.  As  a  fact,  I  never 
saw  your  cousin  again  until  last  spring — less  than 
a  year  ago,  when  she  appeared  in  opera  here.  I 
did  not  mean  to  call  upon  her  then,  but  I  met  her 
at  my  friend's  debut,  and  with  him  was  invited  to 
dinner.  I  was  guilty  of  the  solecism  of  making  no 
return  call  after  this  dinner.  I  never  again  called 
upon  your  cousin  until  after  I  had  seen  you  again, 
here  in  Vienna.  When  I  did  call  it  was  not  for 
the  purpose  of  paying  her  a  courtesy  but  in  order 
to  extract  what  information  I  could  about  your 
present  condition  and  circumstances,  for  I  had  no 
other  source  of  information.  In  our  interview  she 
happened  incautiously  to  mention  the  name— her 
childhood  name  'Cara,'  and  this  chance  mention,  of 
313 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

course,    told    me    the    whole    story.     We    had    a 
furious  quarrel  and  I  left  her; — for  all  time." 

"By  that  time  you  had  forgotten  poor  little 
Gisela  in  Perzagno — and  the  seeing  of  her  again 
here  had  brought  back  some  curiosity — mayhap  a 
mild  interest.  Yes.  After  such  a  parting  as  we 
had,  and  after  two  years'  separation,  you  were  no 
longer  under  obligation  to  remember  me.  I  under- 
stand. I  can  see  it  all.  I  know  my  cousin,  Herr 
Doktor,  and  know  her  methods.  You  are  to  be 
congratulated  that  a  combination  of  favorable 
chances  and  more  or  less  keenness  on  your  own 
part  has  enabled  you  to  see  my  cousin  as  she  is,  at 
last.  I  only  hope  that  things  had  not  gone  too  far 
between  you  before  you  found  her  out.  I  say 
that,  not  for  my  sake,  because  my  rights  over  you 
were  annulled,  as  you  hint,  at  our  last  interview ; — 
but  for  your  own  sake." 

I  was  silent. 

"And  now  you  come  to  me!  Yes!  The  expla- 
nation is  well  constructed!  I  feel  guilty,  Herr 
Doktor.  I  fear  I  do  not  do  you  justice.  This 
explanation  ought  to  be  believed.  Its  ingenuity 
deserves  no  less.  Perhaps  later  on  I  shall  be  able 
to  accept  it.  I  will  try." 

Remembering  my  fiasco  the  night  of  the  ball,  I 
managed  to  keep  my  temper  this  time.  But  the 
thought  did  half  sadly  recur  that  after  all  the 
blood  of  Albina  Portulan  ran  in  the  veins  of  not 
one,  but  both,  of  the  cousins — indeed  more  of  it  in 
Gisela  than  in  the  other  one.  To  have  passed 
the  speech  with  no  reply  at .  all,  was  however, 
beyond  me. 

.     "Signorina,  there  are  times  when  you  and  your 
coilsin  resemble  one  another  in  your  dispositions." 

"That  is,  perhaps,  to  be  expected,"  she  calmly 
3H 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

answered.  "But  I  shall  pray  that  our  differences 
are  much  more  marked." 

"The  Giver  of  all  good  things  has  already  quite 
sufficiently  answered  that  prayer.  You  need  now 
only  pray  for  a  better  understanding  of  your 
friends." 

After  a  pause: — 

"So  you  and  my  cousin  have  quarrelled?"    . 

"Bitterly!  And  finally!  Need  you  ask,  when 
you  remember  that  the  truth  about  the  letters 
came  out  at  our  interview  ?" 

"If  this  explanation  be  true,  I  can  perfectly 
understand  that  it  ended  any  previous  friendship 
you  may  have  had.  Certainly.  Signor — you  must 
forgive  me  if  this  take  a  little  time  to  filter  in.  It 
doubtless  will.  I  don't  believe  I  can  quite  explain 
my  state  of  mind,  Herr  Doktor.  My  reason  tells 
me  that  you  have  spoken  the  truth.  My  reason 
tells  me  that  if  you  have  not  told  the  whole  truth, 
you  have  only  kept  back  what  does  not  concern 
me,  and  what  it  would  do  no  good  for  me  to  hear. 
It  is  only — that  there  is  something  inside  of  me— 
which  won't — let  me  tell  you  that  I  believe  it, — 
yet.  But  I  do  believe  that  you  are  my  friend 
now,  at  any  rate — and  I  am  yours.  Let  us,  then, 
be  friends ; — good  friends,  and  simply  forget  every- 
thing else  for  a  little  while !" 

She  held  out  her  hand  and  I  took  it.  The  bar- 
gain was  sealed.  How  could  I  blame  her  if  "some- 
thing inside  wouldn't  let  her  believe"  just  yet? 
And  I  thought  I  understood.  Besides,  in  most  of 
her  life  she  had  met  with  but  little  to  inspire  confi- 
dence in  others.  Cecilie  had  been,  as  yet,  her  only 
tried  friend. 

My  mind  flew  back  over  that  summer  in  Cattaro 
315 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

and  I  remembered  my  night  ride  after  parting  with 
her. 

"Signorina,  I  have  a  question  to  ask.  A  mere 
matter  of  curiosity.  The  evening  I  last  saw  you  in 
your  home,  I  had  come  over  horseback.  As  I  was 
returning  to  Cattaro  that  night,  I  saw  a  light  and 
thought  I  heard  my  name  called  from  Le  Tre  So- 
relle  as  I  passed.  My  horse  was  very  fractious 
and  bolted  at  the  instant,  and  I  did  not  get  him 
pulled  up  for  a  long  distance.  Was  this  a  real 
call,  or  did  I  imagine  it?" 

"It  was  real,  Signer" — she  answered  gravely. 
"But  I  did  not  know  about  it  until  long  afterward. 
Teresa  had  gone  there  of  her  own  accord.  She 
waited  awhile  for  you  to  come  back,  but  concluded 
you  had  not  seen  her  signal  or  heard  her.  She  said 
you  had  been  carried  away  by  a  spirit  horse  and 
le'ft  in  a  swamp !" 

"Alas!" 

"She  also  went  to  Cattaro  to  find  you  the  fol- 
lowing afternoon,  but  you  and  your  friend  had 
departed.  But  I  did  not  know  of  it,  Signer,  and — 
when  she  told  me,  weeks  afterwards,  we  had  a  big 
cr .  Cecilie  is  taking  a  long  time  over  her  let- 
ter! I'll  call  her." 

"And  I  must  be  going,  Signorina.  I  have  long 
since  exceeded  the  limits  of  a  tea  invitation,  I 
fear." 

"Oh,  surely  we  are  not  going  to  be  so  formal 
with  one  another  as  that !  Cecilie  and  I  both  hope 
you  will  come  up  often.  It  will  be  very  absurd  of 
you  to  wait  for  an  invitation — Cecilie !" 

Cecilie  opened  the  door. 

"The  Doctor  says  he  has  stayed  too  long  for  a 
tea  invitation!" 

316 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Oh— Oh!"  scoffed  Cecilie.  "Well,  how  shall 
we  invite  him  next  time  ?  .  To  stay  altogether  ?" 

"God  forbid!     Then  he  wouldn't  come  at  all!" 

"Better  not  risk  it!  Are  we  going  to  the  opera 
together  some  evening  soon?" 

I  had  found  a  happy  theme  at  the  last,  at  any 
rate.  All  of  us  were  music  lovers  and  I  soon 
knew  what  operas  they  wished  to  hear. 

"Only," — said  Gisela. 

"Yes,  certainly!  I  perfectly  understand.  I'll 
look  at  the  title  role  before  I  take  any  places." 

As  I  was  leaving  Gisela  asked: — 

"By  the  way,  when  is  your  friend  to  give  his 
concerts  here?  They  were  once  announced  but 
have  been  withdrawn." 

"I  do  not  understand  that  any  more  than  you 
do.  My  last  letter  from  Harry  still  gave  the  last 
week  of  this  month.  Since  then  I  have  not 
heard." 

"I  hope  he  is  not  ill  or  having  any  other  misfor- 
tune. Cecilie,  you  will  go  mad  over  him.  He  is 
just  your  ideal,  through  and  through.  I  am  just 
burning  to  see  you  meet !" 

Cecilie  laughed  tolerantly. 

"He  won't  fall  in  love  with  a  giantess." 

"You  never  can  tell!"  I  answered. 


317 


CHAPTER  IX 

BUT  only  a  few  days  later  Harry  appeared  at  my 
door  without  a  word  of  warning  in  advance.  After 
the  first  uproarious  greetings  he  explained  that  he 
had  had  to  postpone  his  dates  on  account  of  an 
overworked  hand,  and  had  now  come  down  to 
make  new  arrangements.  He  would  be  here  some 
days  and  might  remain  until  the  date  of  his  con- 
certs if  the  hall  proved  to  be  free  within  a  reason- 
able time. 

Of  course  Harry  was  greatly  surprised  at  my 
news  for  I  had  written  him  nothing  of  my  new 
situation,  nor  even  the  fact  that  Gisela  was  in  the 
city.  We  had  a  long  talk  that  evening  and  I  told 
him  everything,  including  my  experience  with  Lu- 
bitza.  After  I  had  finished  he  ate  awhile  in  silence 
— for  this  recital  was  during  our  dinner.  Finally 
he  asked: — 

"Are  you  not  a  little  afraid  they  will  try  to  use 
the  fact  that  the  Signorina  is  here  under  the  same 
roof  with  you?" 

"I  thought  of  it,  but  they  have  the  better  thing 
to  use,  and  their  being  here  cannot  add  much. 
Therefore,  balanced  against  her  need  of  protec- 
tion, I  considered  that  danger  negligible." 

"Lubitza  and  the  Ingenieur  will  not  be  idle!" 

"Yes,  I  know.  But,  Harry,  her  only  real  dan- 
ger, now,  is  that  she  reach  her  majority  without  a 
marriage.  I  can  marry  her,  and  save  her  prop- 
erty for  her  in  that  way." 

"Have  you  spoken  to  her  about  that?" 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Not  yet.  There  is  plenty  of  time.  Her  ma- 
jority is  June  seventeenth." 

"If  you  really  mean  to  do  that,  the  sooner  you 
arrange  it  with  her  the  better,  Ed!  The  people  on 
the  other  side  have  always  been  unscrupulous  and 
in  that  abduction  plan  they  showed  glimmerings  of 
ingenuity.  They  may  make  you  trouble  here,  too. 
She  is  probably  safe,  as  you  say,  as  long  as  she  is 
in  the  house;  but  she  cannot  always  be  in.  It  is 
not  easy  to  foresee  every  possibility  they  may  take 
successful  advantage  of,  or  how  far  they  might  go. 
For  instance,  the  Signorina  herself  is  not  their  only 
possible  point  of  attack.  They  may  settle  you 
some  dark  night,  and  what  then?  Have  you 
thought  of  that?" 

"If  that  happens,  Harry,  you  will  act  in  my 
place !" 

"That  is  a  heavy  call  upon  friendship,  Ed!" 

"I  am  not  joking,  Harry!  If  anything  happens 
to  me,  promise  you  will  do  it !  It  is  only  a  formal 
step.  You  can  have  it  annulled  later." 

"Very  well, — I  promise,"  he  answered  gravely. 
"But  if  you  have  really  decided,  you  would  better 
begin  getting  her  used  to  the  idea  for  the  sake  of 
both  of  you.  The  value  of  that  estate  is  a  heavy 
stake  in  Europe,  to  say  nothing  of  the  personal 
feeling  behind  the  matter.  If  they  don't  stab  you 
in  the*  back,  they  may  do  some  other  devilish  thing 
to  you — or  to  her.  They  probably  have  some  card 
up  their  sleeve,  too,  and  you  may  be  sure  they 
know  your  hand.  Do  you  not  imagine  the  possibility 
of  her  marrying  in  the  last  day  or  two  of  her 
minority  has  not  occurred  to  two  such  clever 
intriguers  as  Lubitza  and  Overmann?  Without 
waiting  for  a  reply  he  continued: — 

"It  all  depends  upon  whether  you  have  made  up 
319 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

your  mind  to  do  it,  or  not.  If  not,  then  wait  until 
you  have,  because  once  having  arranged  it,  you 
must  keep  faith.  But  if  you  have  decided,  why 
wait?  It  is  due  her  to  have  a  certainty  of  some- 
thing or  other  and  you  are  running  various  risks 
in  waiting;  risks  for  both." 

The  truth  of  the  matter  was  that  I  had  not  de- 
cided— or  if  I  had,  I  had  at  least  not  reached  the 
sticking  point.  Even  in  case  of  a  formal  marriage 
I  wanted  to  know  why  she  had  left  home ;  why  she 
had  intrigued  with  the  Ingenieur,  and  how  far  it 
had  gone.  I  felt  I  could  readily  take  her  word  of 
honor  for  whatever  she  chose  to  tell  me  about  it — 
not  a  doubt  of  that.  She  would  be  too  proud  to 
lie; — a  nature  such  as  hers  is  almost  always  above 
subterfuge — and  impatient  of  it  in  others,  as  well. 

However,  Harry's  words  woke  me  up  from  this 
dozing.  No,  in  four  months  I  would  be  no  nearer 
a  decision  than  I  was  now.  The  fact  that  if  any- 
thing should  happen  to  me  she  would  be  left  help- 
less had  never  presented  itself.  This  contingency 
seldom  does  occur  to  us,  unless  we  be  reminded 
of  it. 

So  the  result  of  Harry's  words  was  that  I  set- 
tled the  matter,  summarily. 

The  occasion  for  suggesting  the  move  would 
have  to  be  one  on  which  I  would  have  time  and 
opportunity  to  present  the  matter  tactfully.  I  did 
not  wish  any  misunderstanding  of  my  motives,  yet 
I  must  succeed ;  so  it  was  not  an  interview  for  two 
or  three  minutes'  time  with  Cecilie  likely  to  run  in 
every  moment.  However,  the  opportunity  came 
sooner  than  I  was  expecting. 

The  quartette  of  us  had  gone  to  the  opera  and 
had  actually  entered  the  box  and  seen  the  curtain 
rise  before  we  realized  that  there  had  taken  place 
320 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

one  of  those  summary  and  incomprehensible 
changes  of  program  without  notice  which  the 
Viennese  opera  lover  so  often  has  to  endure  from 
the  management  of  the  royal  opera.  Instead  of 
Siegfried,  as  we  were  expecting,  the  curtain  had 
risen  for  the  first  act  of  La  Boheme.  I  remem- 
bered immediately  that  Lubitza  had  sung  the  title 
role  of  this  opera  every  time  it  had  been  presented 
that  winter.  I  stepped  into  the  cloak  room  of  the 
loge  to  a  light  and  looking  at  the  cast,  saw  that 
Lubitza  was,  in  fact,  to  sing.  I  came  back  and  in- 
formed Gisela.  She  rose  at  once  to  leave.  After 
a  hurried  consultation  we  decided  that  Harry  and 
Cecilie  should  remain — there  was  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  do  so. 

As  it  was  less  than  half  past  seven  when  we 
reached  home,  Gisela  courteously  invited  me  to 
come  up  for  a  while,  and  somewhat  to  her  sur- 
prise, I  think,  I  accepted. 

After  we  had  made  ourselves  comfortable  in 
chairs,  I  found  myself  facing  the  most  difficult 
moment  of  my  life.  With  some  women  it  would 
not  have  been  such  a  puzzle,  but  Gisela  was  of  an- 
other clay. 

How  to  do  my  errand  without  emotion  and  at 
the  same  time  have  her  not  make  any  mistake  as  to 
the  formal  nature  of  my  proposal  and  without 
wounding  her  pride — 'furnished  a  combination  that 
gave  me  a  headache.  Furthermore,  Gisela  did  not 
seem  to  be  in  the  right  mood.  She  was  bright  and 
talkative.  She  had  not  actually  seen  Lubitza,  so 
nothing  had  happened  to  depress  her.  Lately,  in 
general,  she  had  seemed  a  little  more  her  old  self, 
and  although  there  had  not  been  one  moment  of 
confidence,  still  she  had  come,  once  more,  to  treat 
me  very  much  as  she  had  done  formerly  when 
321 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

others  were  by, — with  her  usual  gracious  smile  and 
gay  banter.  She  was  in  that  mood  to-night  and  it 
went  against  the  grain  to  bring  up  any  unpleasant 
subject. 

However,  Harry  had  egged  me  into  haste.  Be- 
sides I  did  not  expect  her  to  see  the  wisdom  of  the 
step  at  once.  She  would  need  some  days  to  con- 
sider it,  so  more  time  would  be  lost. 

"I  had  a  narrow  escape,"  she  remarked,  after  a 
laugh  over  our  hasty  exit  from  the  opera  house, 
"thanks  to  you." 

"Yes.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  avoid  people  even 
by  vigilance.  And  yet  it  is  a  pity  you  cannot  hear 
your  cousin  sing.  Whatever  else  she  be,  she  is  a 
great  artist,  and  growing  greater." 

"But  she  is  also  these  other  things,  and  I  could 
never  lose  these  in  the  artist,  dearly  as  I  love  the 
opera.  Nor  do  I  believe  you  could,  either,  Herr 
Doktor,  were  you  in  my  place." 

"It  makes  a  difference  whose  hair  is  pulled — all 
the  difference  between  laughing  and  crying.  I 
wonder  how  she  would  have  sung  if  you  had  re- 
mained and  she  had  seen  you." 

"Better  than  usual,  I  fancy." 

"Yes,  I  believe  she  would  have. — Signorina." 

"Well,  Herr  Doktor?" 

"Has  Cecilie  told  you  of  the  narrow  escape  you 
had  in  the  other  house  ?" 

"Yes,  and  how  you  forced  the  thing  out  of  the 
hausbesorger.  I  owe  you  much,  Herr  Doktor.  If 
I  have  not  thanked  you  it  is  only  because  I  have 
not  had  a  good  opportunity.  I  will  do  so  now" 

"Nay,  nay,  you  owe  me  nothing !  Nothing  what- 
ever! I  only  asked  because  there  is  a  matter  I 
wish  to  talk  over  with  you,  and  it  is  necessary  that 
you  understand  your  situation  before  I  mention  it. 

322 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Forgive  me  for  bringing  up  the  subject,  but  I  wish 
to  protect  you,  and  time  is  flying.  May  I  talk  with 
you  unreservedly?" 

"Certainly,  Herr  Doktor.  Are  you  not  my 
proven  good  friend?  You  have  the  right.  Pray 
do  so." 

She  gravely  settled  herself  in  the  chair  and 
looked  at  me  inquiringly. 

"You  come  of  legal  age  on  this  seventeenth  of 
June,  do  you  not?" 

"Yes,  Signer,  that  is  the  date." 

"I  ascertained  the  date  from  Cecilie." 

"I  know." 

"Signorina,  I  do  not  know  if  you  yet  believe  my 
explanation  of  the  letter  Lubitza  received.  You 
have  never  told  me" 


"Oh,  yes,  Signer.  It  has  filtered  through- 
rather  the  thing  that  wouldn't  let  me  tell  you  so, 
has  given  over  resistance.  I  have  had  my  first 
scolding  from  Cecilie  on  that  subject.  She  insists 
that  I  do  not  deserve  to  have  any  friends,"  this 
with  a  laugh — "The  sun  no  longer  rises  and  sets 
for  Cecilie.  Now,  the  day,  for  her,  is  reckoned  by 
you,  Signor." 

"Cecilie  would  better  stick  to  steady  old  Sol. 
Besides,  methinks  another  sun  has  risen  for  her." 

"Oh,  she  is  charmed  with  your  friend.  Not  a 
doubt  of  it !  Why  not  ?" 

"Why  not,  indeed!  But  I  must  return  to  my 
subject,  Signorina.  Well,  you  understand  your 
danger,  then?" 

"I  understand  perfectly.  They  will  ruin  me  if 
they  can,  by  any  way  that  seems  feasible.  There 
is  no  depravity  too  deep  for  my  cousin  and  her 
fiance.  I  know  all  that  better  than  you  do,  Herr 
Doktor." 

323 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  gazed  at  her  in  wonderment.  Since  she  still 
spoke  of  the  Ingenieur  in  those  terms,  how  had  he 
been  able  to  entice  her  from  her  home?  And  of 
course  this  was  not  being  honest  with  me.  She  did 
not  know  that  I  knew  that  she  had  gone  to  him, 
and  was  going  to  lie  to  me  after  all.  My  heart 
went  down  with  disappointment. 

I  determined  to  give  her  no  chance  to  tell  me  a 
falsehood.  I  could  not  bear  it. 

"But,  Signorina,  do  you  realize  their  cleverness? 
Do  you  realize  that  their  plot  to  carry  you  off 
would  probably  have  succeeded?  And  do  you 
realize  what  it  would  have  meant?" 

"Yes,  it  might  have  succeeded — we  were  two 
weak  women,  often  alone  in  our  rooms.  And,  yes, 
I  understand  that  it  would  have  ruined  me." 

"I  must  tell  you  one  more  thing.  This  Baron 
Ascher  who  was  to  do  it,  is  a  more  dangerous  and 
unscrupulous  man  than  the  Ingenieur.  He  has  been 
in  many  a  scrape  with  women  and  girls,  and  has 
had  more  than  one  near  escape  from  serious  trou- 
ble. I  happen  to  know  that  he  has  but  little  money 
left,  and  in  consequence  he  must  be  desperate  and 
ready  for  anything.  You  have,  therefore,  not  two 
but  even  four  enemies,  for  Ascher  can  count  for 
two  such  as  your  cousin  and  her  fiance." 

"At  least  I  have  two  good  friends,  have  I  not, 
Signer  ?" 

"Even  three,  as  I  shall  explain  to  you  later. 
Three  friends  who  are  not  bought  ones,  and  who 
will  do  their  best  for  you.  But,  Signorina,  while 
we  may  succeed  in  protecting  you,  yet  we  all  be- 
lieve that  waiting  is  very  dangerous — in  more  ways 
than  one.  We  must  not  make  the  mistake  of 
underrating  the  ability  of  those  people  to  do  harm. 
Since  they  have  enlisted  Ascher,  I  am  afraid — I 
324 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

confess  it.  He  knows  Vienna  as  he  knows  his  own 
house,  and  if  anybody  can  advise  and  serve  them, 
he  can." 

"Well,  Herr  Doktor,  what  am  I  to  do?  I  am 
sure  you  have  some  advice  for  me,  or  you  would 
never  tell  me  these  things." 

"Quite  right,  Signorina.  I  have  something  for 
you.  But  as  it  is  something  you  will  not  like,  it  is 
necessary  that  you  realize  your  situation  before  it 
is  suggested." 

"Am  I  to  go  into  a  convent  after  all — at  my 
age?" 

"No — no!  That  would  not  help  you  now,"  I 
answered  sadly.  "But  there  is  one  very  simple  and 
easy  way  by  which  we  can  eventually  put  you  utter- 
ly out  of  their  power  and  into  a  position  in  which 
you  will  be  relieved  of  suspense  and  be  safe." 

"And  yet  you  hint  I  shall  not  like  the  means! 
For  such  a  result  the  means  would  not  matter. 
How  is  it  to  be  done,  Signor?" 

"By  the  terms  of  your  great-grandmother's  will, 
if  you  marry  legally  before  your  next  birthday, 
you  will  be  qualified  for  your  heritage,  at  once.  I 
have  talked  over  the  matter  with  one  of  the  best 
attorneys  in  Vienna  and  he  has  assured  me  that 
the  courts  will  hold  that  the  clear  meaning  of  this 
clause  in  the  will  is  merely  that  you  be  correctly 
settled  in  life  before  your  coming  of  age.  There- 
fore, he  says,  a  legal  marriage — with  any  proper 
party  will  qualify  you  for  your  inheritance  on  the 
day  you  come  of  age.  Our  only  care  is  that  they 
must  not  know  of  the  marriage  until  it  be  too  late 
for  them  to  start  an  action  to  annul  it.  So  the 
marriage  must  take  place  during  the  last  two  or 
three  days  of  your  minority  and  somewhere  else 
than  in  Austria." 

325 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

She  laughed  unreservedly. 

"Ah,  Signer,  does  a  woman  pick  a  husband,  in 
Vienna,  as  one  would  a  flower?  Do  they  grow  so 
luxuriantly  here?  Are  the  gardens  pretty?" 

"Much  overgrown  with  weeds,  I  fear — but  that 
is  neither  here  nor  there.  The  matter  is  grave 
and  our  joking  would  better  be  reserved  until  after 
your  safety  is  assured.  Then  we  may  joke  all  we 
like." 

"Very  well,  Signer,"  still  smiling,  "I  am  seri- 
ous. Where  am  I  to  find  him?" 

"Go  secretly  to  England  and  live  there  until  you 
come  of  age.  A  few  days  before  that  date  I  will 
join  you  and  we  can  be  married  there.  It  is 
simple." 

Her  face  grew  blood  red.  She  gave  me  a  hur- 
ried look  and  then  bent  her  eyes  upon  her  hands, 
which  were  trembling.  A  dozen  emotions  swept 
over  her  face — embarrassment,  uncertainty  and 
question  alternating.  Her  lips  opened  as  if  to  an- 
swer, and  closed  again.  She  gave  me  one  final, 
long,  studying  look,  and  then  here  eyes  sought  her 
hands  once  more. 

"It  is  your  only  way  to  be  safe,  Signorina.  Of 
course  you  care  nothing  for  me  except  as  a  good 
friend,  but  for  the  present  that  will  not  matter. 
Once  in  England,  and  married,  your  troubles  are 
settled  and  in  the  meantime  you  can  continue  to 
live  as  you  have  been  doing,  until  your  majority. 
Of  course  I  shall  never  disturb  you.  I  shall  re- 
main your  good  friend  and  never  presume  upon  the 
new  relationship  in  any  way  whatsoever.  You 
will  see  me  then  just  as  you  see  me  now — when  I 
am  invited  to  call.  Then  after  your  majority  is 
attained  and  your  estate  is  safely  adjudged  to  you, 
we  can  go  to  some  other  country  and  have  the 
326 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

marriage  annulled,  and  you  will  be  your  own  mis- 
tress before  the  world." 

She  looked  up  but  once  during  the  speech  and 
then  kept  her  head  down.  I  saw  the  pretty  under 
lip  grow  just  a  little  more  full  and  did  not  like  the 
sign.  But  the  fullness  passed  again,  and  she  grew 
pale  and  the  paleness  remained.  Finally  she  said 
with  evident  effort: — 

"As  I  understand  you,  Herr  Doktor,  you  are  not 
offering  to  marry  me  because  you  love  me  or  want 
me;  you  are  offering  yourself  as  a  temporary  sac- 
rifice to  help  me  to  receive  my  estate,  after  which 
we  are  to  part  and  go  our  separate  ways.  Am  I 
right?". 

"That  is  what  I  am  suggesting  now,  Signorina, 
and  there  is  no  question  or  thought  of  a  sacrifice 
in  the  matter,  for  either  of  us.  It  will  not  change 
our  lives." 

She  thought  awhile. 

"Whom  do  you  mean  by  my  third  friend,  Herr 
Doktor?  I  know  only  you  and  Cecilie." 

"My  friend,  Harry  McClellan,  is  also  your 
friend,  Signorina.  He  has  promised  that  if  any- 
thing happen  to  me,  he  will  take  my  place  in  this 
affair." 

She  looked  up. 

"You  mean  in  this  marriage  of  convenience?" 

"Yes,  Signorina.  Harry  has  more  honor  than  I, 
or  any  other  man  I  know." 

"I  doubt  if  he  has  more,  Signer — though  I  must 
look  upon  him  as  a  very  true  friend  of  yours,  at 
least." 

Again  a  silence.  She  seemed  very  busy  with  a 
refractory  fold  in  her  skirt. 

"Is  this  the  entire  plan,  Signer?" 

"There  is  only  further  that  I  will  take  care  to 
327 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

settle  your  full  estate  upon  you  in  advance,  by  legal 
renunciation." 

"I  was  not  thinking  of  that." 

Again  a  long  silence. 

"Have  you  no  further  word  for  me,  Signer?" 

Of  course  I  understood  her  in  part,  but  I  could 
not  meet  it.  Besides,  I  could  not  gather  why  she 
wanted  me  to  tell  her  I  loved  her.  She  certainly 
did  not  love  me.  I  had  not  had  one  word,  or  seen 
one  look  or  sign  that  even  remotely  suggested  such 
a  thing.  I  did  love  her.  I  told  myself  at  this  mo- 
ment that  I  did,  and  that  it  would  last  as  long  as  I 
did. 

But  until  she  would  account  for  the  time  which 
had  elapsed  between  leaving  her  home  and  that 
Christmas  Eve  when  I  had  found  her  again,  I  felt 
she  had  no  right  to  ask  me  if  I  loved  her;  for  I  had 
not  proposed  marriage — I  had  only  proposed  a 
necessary  ceremony.  Unless  she  could  see  this  for 
herself  and  bravely  come  forward  and  make  the 
explanation  whatever  it  might  be,  why  could  she 
not  be  satisfied  with  what  I  had  already  offered? 
It  was  surely  proof  enough  of  friendship,  and  I 
had  no  reason  to  suspect  that  she  wanted  more. 

Still,  if  she  made  such  terms  she  must  be  an- 
swered and  I  honestly  felt  she  ought  to  be.  Had 
I  had  less  personal  feeling  and  been  more  disinter- 
ested I  would  have  had  more  policy  in  dealing  with 
her ;  but  for  the  moment  personal  feeling  overrode 
my  memory  that  my  mission  to-night  should  have 
been  success  in  my  undertaking. 

Naturally  it  was  a  moment  or  two  before  I  could 
frame  an  answer. 

"Signorina,  of  course  I  love  you.  I  told  you  so 
again  and  again  in  Cattaro  and  I  am  not  a  man  to 
change  or  forget.  But  I  cannot  tell  you  so  in  the 
328 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

right  spirit  now.  There  is  too  much  between  us; 
and  as  you  said  to  me  once,  something  inside  of  me 
will  not  let  me  say  it  to-night." 

She  still  looked  down,  her  head  a  little  lower  yet, 
and  I  could  not  see  her  face. 

"What  is  between  us,  Signer?" 

Why,  oh  why,  in  the  name  of  heaven,  why 
would  she  make  me  say  it !  I  did  not  wish  to,  and 
she  must  know  what  I  meant  now,  and  know  that 
Lubitza  had  told  me  all.  I  did  not  wish  to  hear  a 
lie — and — to-night — not  the  truth. 

"What  is  the  use,  Signorina?  Why  not  let  that 
go  for  now?  We  do  not  need  to  take  it  up?" 

"Tell  me,  Signor." 

She  spoke  quietly  but  with  her  head  still  down. 
I  did  hate  to  say  it,  although  she  must  know  now 
what  was  coming. 

"Well,  Signorina,  since  you  insist,  I  will  say  it. 
But  I  did  not  mean  to,  and  wish  you  would  not 
make  it  necessary — very  well.  Signorina,  I  am 
now  as  I  was  in  Cattaro,  and  it  will  never  be  other- 
wise with  me.  But  I  can  no  longer  tell  you  of  my 
love  until  I  am  told  how  you  came  to  leave  your 
home;  and  why;  and  what  you  did  between  then 
and  last  Christmas  Eve." 

She  did  not  raise  her  head,  nor  did  she  answer. 

"Signorina,  I  have  not  convicted  you  without 
first  hearing  you.  I  have  kept  in  mind  past  mis- 
understandings and  I  have  gone  slow.  But  I  must 
have  your  own  word  about  it  before  I  can  talk  of 
love  again.  Your  word  will  be  good,  but  I  must 
have  that  much.  But  do  as  you  please  about  giv- 
ing me  a  statement.  If  you  decide  to  keep  silent, 
my  friendship  and  my  efforts  in  your  behalf  will 
be  no  whit  abated,  neither  now,  nor  in  times  to 
come." 

329 


The  'Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

There  was  still  no  answer.  I  could  not  say  that 
she  had  heard  me. 

"Gisela,  I  think  I  could  forgive — anything — with 
a  little  time — anything  whatever !" 

It  was  the  last  thing  I  could  think  of,  to  say.  To 
have  charged  her  openly,  with  having  left  her  home 
for  the  Ingenieur  and  having  at  least  accepted  his 
shelter  would  have  been  the  next  and  last  step,  and 
this  I  could  not  take.  Besides  it  was  not  neces- 
sary. No,  I  had  said  enough.  The  matter  was  in 
her  hands,  now. 

"Have  you  talked  with  my  cousin  about  this  mat- 
ter, Signor?" 

"Certainly,  Gisela.  There  was  no  other  way  for 
me  to  learn  of  it." 

She  asked  no  further  question.  Her  head  re- 
mained down  for  some  time  longer ;  but  at  last  she 
raised  it,  and  with  a  sight  of  her  face,  my  hopes 
sank.  She  wore  the  mask  again. 

For  a  moment  she  inspected  me  and  I  could  no 
more  read  her  thoughts  than  if  she  had  been  some 
sculptured  thing.  The  blood  of  Albina  had  risen 
to  the  surface  once  more. 

"And  so,  you  will  not  talk  of  love,  but  you  offer 
me  a  marriage  to  save  my  estate  with  the  under- 
standing that  we  part  as  soon  as  that  object  is 
gained  ?" 

"For  now,  Gisela,  that  is  the  offer.  I  beg  you  to 
see  the  wisdom  of  it.  For  the  rest" 

"But,  Signor,  the  will  gives  me  the  estate  with- 
out a  marriage  if  I  live  rightly.  I  assume  then, 
since  you  offer  me  marriage  to  save  it,  that  you  be- 
lieve I  need  this  last  resort?" 

"I  will  believe  your  word,  Gisela !  You  have 
only  to  tell  me  what  happened  in  this  time." 

330 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  cannot  tell  you  what  happened  during  those 
months." 

I  had  expected  the  answer. 

"Very  well,  Gisela,  let  it  be  a  closed  book.  But 
even  if  you  have  lived  rightly  it  will  be  safest  and 
best  to  adopt  my  plan.  My  friend  Harry  has 
hinted  that  your  enemies  may  even  use  against  you 
the  fact  of  your  having  come  to  live  in  this  house 
where  I  am.  Remember  that  those  people  do  not 
care  if  they  use  a  lie,  even  knowing  it  to  be  such. 
God  knows  I  acted  for  the  best  as  I  saw  it,  in 
bringing  you  here.  Let  us  do  this  thing.  Why 
wait  for  danger  when  you  can  be  freed  in  such  a 
simple  and  easy  way  ?  Let  me  see  to  the  matter  to- 
morrow, and  you  can  leave  Vienna  the  next  day." 

She  rose,  came  to  me  and  took  my  hand,  still 
wearing  the  mask. 

"Signer,  you  have  given  all  the  proof  of  friend- 
ship that  any  one  could  ask — a  friendship  that 
comes  to  but  few.  I  appreciate  it.  The  sincerity 
and  nobility  of  your  offer  will  never  be  forgotten ! 
If  I  feel  that  I  cannot  accept  it,  never  forget  that 
I  understood  and  valued  it  as  I  value  you  your- 
self." 

"But  accept  it,  Gisela!  You  have  too  much  to 
lose  and  your  enemies  are  too  strong  to  play  with !" 

"I  will  think  the  matter  over,  Signer.  That  is 
the  most  I  can  say  now.  In  due  time  you  will 
know  my  answer.  Now  will  you  be  offended  if  I 
ask  you  to  leave  me  for  to-night?  I  have  much  to 
think  over.  Do  not  be  offended,  Herr  Doktor!  I 
do  not  ask  you  to  go  because  I  do  not  wish  to  have 
you  with  me,  but  because — I — I — have  much — to 
think  over.  You — have  shown — me  my — danger, 
and  I  must — have  time — have  time — to  think." 

"Don't  think  too  much  or  too  long  about  it, 
331 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Gisela !  Act ;  and  do  the  thinking  afterwards. 
There  is  nothing  much  to  debate  in  the  affair — only 
the  question  if  you  are  willing  to  accept  my  help. 
And  if  you  could  only  know  how  welcome  to  you  it 
is — how  anxious  I  am  to  give  it,  you  would  not 
worry  about  the  detail.  And  better  sooner  than 
later!  Every  day  is  a  risk,  and  the  step  can  only 
bring  you  good.  I  shall  hope  for  your  answer  some- 
time to-morrow — and  hope  that  you  will  decide 
wisely  and  favorably." 

"I  shall  do  my  best  to  decide  wisely,  Signer. 
Good  night,  dear  friend." 

"Good  night,  Gisela." 


332 


CHAPTER  X 

BUT  I  did  not  receive  her  answer  the  next  day. 
When  I  called  the  following  afternoon  she  was 
out,  and  in  the  evening  Cecilie  informed  me  that 
Gisela  was  not  feeling  well  and  begged  to  be  ex- 
cused. Gisela  would  let  me  know  when  she  could 
see  me.  There  was,  thus,  nothing  to  do  but  to 
await  her  convenience. 

Then  two  more  days  passed,  and  coming  home 
one  afternoon  between  five  and  six  I  found  Harry 
awaiting  me.  He  had  a  box  for  the  opera  and  had 
come  to  take  us  all.  I  started  to  dress  and  Harry 
betook  himself  upstairs. 

I  was  about  half  dressed  when  the  door-bell  rang 
and  my  servant  came  in  with  the  word  that  a  nurse 
was  awaiting  me  in  my  study.  She  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  staff  nurses  of  our  clinic  and  had  come 
with  the  message  that  an  emergency  case  of  great 
interest  to  the  Hofrath  himself  had  been  brought 
in.  Such  a  message  from  the  Professor  was  the 
equivalent  of  a  command ;  and  after  again  chang- 
ing my  clothes  and  having  sent  my  servant  up- 
stairs with  the  explanation,  I  hurried  to  the  hos- 
pital. 

The  case  occupied  our  time  until  near  four  and 
when  we  were  again  at  liberty  I  went  to  one  of  the 
bedrooms  reserved  for  the  night  men  and  slept  until 
the  hour  for  the  Professor's  clinical  lecture  to  the 
university  students,  which  was  half  past  twelve. 
After  having  luncheon  in  the  physicians'  hall  I  was 
occupied  all  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  with  that 
bugbear  of  hospital  staff-men:  namely,  the  leafing 
333 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

over  of  old,  ill-written  tomes  of  the  hospital  clini- 
cal record  from  many  years  back,  hunting  out  and 
tabulating  cases  parallel  with  the  one  of  the  pre- 
vious night,  in  order  to  deduce  the  hospital  statis- 
tics thereon. 

Thus  it  was  just  twenty-four  hours  after  last 
leaving  my  rooms,  when,  very  tired  and  ill- 
humored,  I  saw  them  again. 

The  hausmeister  came  out  into  the  corridor  as  I 
was  about  to  unlock  my  own  door.  He  was  pale 
and  worried. 

"Herr  Doktor,  the  young  lady  has  gone." 

"What  young  lady  ?"  I  snapped. 

"The  Fraulein  Portulan." 

"Gone!     When?" 

"Last  night  about  half  past  ten.  She  came  down 
to  my  door  and  ordered  her  trunks  down  at  once. 
There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  obey.  I  put  them 
on  a  fiaker  which  was  waiting,  and  she  got  in  and 
left." 

"Last  night!  And  you  have  waited  until  now, 
nearly  twenty-four  hours  afterwards,  to  get  this 
news  to  me!" 

"Herr  Doktor,  I  did  my  best.  My  wife  went  to 
the  hospital  at  once  but  they  said  you  were  busy 
and  to  see  you  was  out  of  the  question.  She 
waited  there  until  two  o'clock,  Herr  Doktor.  I 
went  over  this  morning  but  they  said  you  had  been 
up  all  night  and  that  the  Hofrath  had  given  orders 
that  none  of  the  night-men  were  to  be  called  for 
any  reason." 

"Why  did  you  not  insist?" 

"I  did.    I  told  them  it  was  urgent:    They  asked 

me  why,  and  I  did  not  think  I  could  tell  them,  Herr 

Doktor.     Then   they   ordered   me   to   leave.     This 

afternoon  I  kept  thinking  you  would  be  in  every 

334 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

minute  and  I  have  watched  for  you  here.  So 
much  time  had  passed  that  I  thought  best  to  make 
sure  of  you  here." 

"Did  she  go  alone?" 

"Yes,  Herr  Doktor." 

"Did  you  take  the  number  of  the  fiaker?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  and  wrote  it  down.  Here  it  is; 
number  fourteen  hundred  eighty-nine.  And  the 
destination  the  Fraulein  gave  was  the  West  Sta- 
tion." 

Hoping  to  find  a  note  of  explanation  I  hurried 
into  my  apartment.  I  found  no  note  on  my  desk 
and  my  servant  assured  me  that  none  had  been  left, 
but  that  the  hausmeister  and  his  wife  had  repeated- 
ly inquired  for  me  and  that  morning  Harry  and 
Cecilie  had  both  been  there. 

I  flew  upstairs  not  waiting  for  the  lift  and  rang 
Cecilie's  bell.  She  answered  in  person  but  it  was  a 
moment  before  she  recognized  me,  her  face  and 
eyes  being  swollen  with  much  weeping.  As  I 
started  to  question  her  Harry  came  out  of  her  study 
and  dragged  us  both  inside. 

"At  least  nothing  before  the  maidservant !" 

He  scowled  at  me. 

"Where  is  she?" 

"Where  is  she!  You  ask  me  that!  I  have  just 
this  moment  heard  it,  you  idiot!  Do  you  speak 
first!" 

"Well,  well,  Ed,  we  can  do  nothing  by  flying  into 
a  passion.  I  have  been  trying  to  .comfort  Cecilie 
with  the  idea  that  something  must  have  happened 
which  made  it  necessary  for  her  to  go,  and  that  you 
would  probably  know  what  it  was,  and  know  of 
her  going.  Your  own  absence  made  me  think  of 
that." 

"That  was  a  brilliant  idea !    I  have  not  been  out- 
335 


The    Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

side  of  the  hospital  since  I  left  last  night;  and  I 
would  be  so  very  likely  to  take  her  away  without 
letting  her  friend  know,  now,  wouldn't  I !  How 
did  it  happen  that  she  didn't  go  with  you  last 
night?" 

"Let  us  speak  in  German,  Ed.  Cecilie  has  a 
right  to  know  every  single  word  we  are  saying. 
She  said  she  had  a  headache." 

"Did  she  leave  no  note,  Cecilie?" 

"I  have — found — nothing." 

"Let  us  search ;  all  of  us !" 

We  went  to  Gisela's  sleeping-room  and  turned 
over  everything  there,  even  the  rugs,  without  re- 
sult. She  had  left  a  few  things  of  no  importance 
in  her  wardrobes,  together  with  such  of  her  wear- 
ing apparel  as  had  not  been  laundered.  She  had 
taken  the  two  trunks  which  had  stood  in  the  sleep- 
ing room,  leaving  behind  those  in  the  loft. 

"She  has  waited  for  a  chance  to  evade  us  all,  and 
that  having  come,  she  has  taken  what  she  could," 
remarked  Harry. 

"I  shall  start  the  police  at  once!"  and  I  started 
to  go. 

Harry  seized  my  arm. 

"For  what?  To  stop  a  grown  free  woman  who 
has  left  the  house  of  her  own  will?  They  will 
laugh  at  you." 

His  words  brought  me  up,  standing.  Of  her  own 
free  will!  Certainly  it  had  been  so.  She  had,  as 
Harry  had  said,  waited  for  her  chance  and  gone 
secretly  and  alone.  Of  course  that  had  been  of  her 
own  free  will.  What  could  the  police  have  to  do 
with  that? 

"We  can  at  least  trace  her." 

"I  have  been  to  the  West  Station,"  he  replied. 
"I  found  the  porter  who  handled  her  trunks.  They 
336 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 


were  marked  for  Munich.  He  remembered  the 
check  number  also.  Here  it  is.  If  you  think  best 
to  follow  her  you  will  have  to  go  there.  But  I 
wouldn't  do  it  unless  you  have  better  reason  than 
I  know." 

I  had  less  reason  than  he  knew,  but  that  did 
not  deter  me.  I  barely  caught  the  night  train.  I 
waited  up  until  we  left  Salzburg  and  questioned  the 
customs  inspector  at  the  German  frontier,  who  re- 
membered her. 

The  following  day  was  spent  in  an  utterly  fruit- 
less quest.  At  the  station  I  learned  from  the  bag- 
gage record  that  the  trunks  had  been  put  off  at 
Munich,  but  they  had  been  removed,  probably  by  a 
porter  and  no  one  could  tell  me  whether  they  had 
been  taken  into  the  city  or  rechecked  by  another 
train.  Inquiry  among  porters  and  cab  drivers  was 
unavailing.  No  one  remembered  her  or  if  he 
did,  would  tell  me.  The  previous  morning  had 
been  a  crowded  and  busy  one  and  many  travellers 
and  much  baggage  had  passed  through  the  station. 

I  spent  one  more  day  in  the  city  without  result 
and  then  took  the  night  train  back  carrying  with 
me  no  crumb  of  comfort  except  a  solemn  promise 
from  the  Chief  of  Police  at  Munich  that  he  would 
communicate  by  telegraph  with  me  in  case  he  re- 
ceived any  news  of  her. 

When  I  arrived  at  Vienna  again,  I  visited  a  de- 
tective agency  and  employed  a  competent  man  to 
make  me  a  weekly  report  for  a  while  on  the  move- 
ments of  Lubitza,  the  Ingenieur  and  Baron  Ascher. 
He  was  not  to  spy  upon  them  in  matters  which  did 
not  concern  me,  but  I  was  to  know  where  they  all 
were,  and  to  know  of  any  departures.  He  made 
his  first  report  in  two  days.  Lubitza  was  in 
Vienna  at  her  duties  in  the  opera.  Ascher  was  at 

337 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

home  engaged  in  his  usual  pursuits,  chiefly  gaming 
at  the  club.  The  Ingenieur  had  been  in  Vienna  but 
had  gone  south  to  Trieste  on  the  previous  day,  so 
was  probably  on  the  way  to  rejoin  his  post  at  Tre- 
binje. 

She  thus  must  have  departed  alone,  of  her  own 
free  will.  I  could  see  nothing  I  could  do  but  to 
make  a  few  secret  gulps  of  nothing  in  the  privacy 
of  my  own  rooms,  and  get  back  into  harness. 


338 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  days  came  and  went  and  after  a  month  I 
discharged  the  detective,  as  he  was  reporting  noth- 
ing new.  Harry's  two  concerts  came  off  with  the 
same  brilliant  success  as  before.  Lubitza  was  pres- 
ent at  'both  concerts  giving  him  the  same  rapt  at- 
tention she  had  before  but  did  not  seek  him  out  at 
the  close  of  either  evening.  I  took  care  to  take 
places  in  the  balcony  where  I  knew  she  would  not 
be  near  me.  I  do  not  think  Harry  ever  spoke  with 
Lubitza  again;  if  he  did  he  never  told  me  of  it. 

For  awhile  I  called  upon  Cecilie  every  day  or 
two,  but  after  a  couple  of  weeks  her  behavior  be- 
came peculiar.  She  was  not  exactly  cold  and  never 
discourteous,  but,  for  one  thing,  she  suddenly  be- 
came disinclined  to  talk  of  Gisela.  When  I  would 
speak  of  her  Cecilie  would  look  at  me  oddly  with 
her  great  eyes  and  answer  in  monosyllables.  It 
was  difficult  to  see  her  and  not  talk  of  our  mutual 
friend,  so  my  calls  became  farther  and  farther 
apart  and  after  a  time  I  saw  her,  to  greet  her,  only 
by  an  occasional  chance  in  the  corridor.  At  last 
her  leaving  time  came,  and  she  bade  me  good-bye, 
not  without  cordiality,  but  with  the  same  half -won- 
dering half -compassionate  eyes. 

Harry  had  left  long  since  to  fill  other  concert  en- 
gagements, and  I  was  left  to  gray  days  and  memo- 
ries; for  this  time  no  hard  work,  late  hours  nor 
delving  over  books  would  deliver  me  even  for  an 
^hour  from  bitterness,  forebodings  and  a  biting  con- 
science. In  going  over  the  immediate  past,  as  I 
did  only  too  often,  it  had  occurred  to  me  more  than 
339 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

once  that  Gisela  might  have  accepted  my  proposal 
if  I  had  only  said  in  the  right  way,  the  one  little 
thing  she  wanted  to  hear. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  we  in  Vienna  began 
to  hear  more  than  the  usual  annual  rumors  of  trou- 
ble in  the  Balkans.  The  vast  mobilization  of  the 
army  which  occurred  when  Austria  technically 
broke  the  treaty  of  Berlin  and  boldly  annexed  Bos- 
nia and  the  Herzegovina  did  not  take  place  until 
the  following  autumn ;  but  at  this  time  news  began, 
little  by  little,  to  pass  from  the  lips  of  one  man  to 
another, — unbelieved,  scoffed  at,  laughed  at,  but 
none  the  less  persistently.  The  coming  mobiliza- 
tion was  considered  by  most  to  be  the  official  an- 
swer to  the  recent  augmentation  of  Pan-Servianism 
which  was  supposed  to  have  taken  place  in  that  part 
of  the  Balkans  occupied  by  Austria,  and  which  was 
believed  to  have  Russian  countenance,  the  latter 
enlisting  in  the  cause  many  who  otherwise  would 
have  had  small  interest  in  the  movement.  Now  it 
was  being  said  that  the  government  would  put  a 
stop  to  the  Slavic  movement  in  the  lower  provinces 
at  the  cost  of  war  if  necessary;  furthermore  that 
the  government  had  unearthed  a  secret  dispatch 
route  in  the  south  of  Dalmatia  which  connected 
with  Montenegro  and  the  lower  Austrian  provinces, 
and  had  now  under  arrest,  a  dozen  or  more  persons 
suspected  of  connection  therewith.  It  was  said 
that  what  caused  the  government  especial  uneasi- 
ness was  the  fact  that  a  railway  through  the  Novi 
Pazar  had  been  quietly  financed  by  a  wealthy  group 
of  Pan-Servianists,  its  object  being  to  give  Servia 
an  outlet  to  the  sea,  and  that  this  party  wanted  war, 
among  other  reasons  in  order  to  free  the  Novi 
Pazar  from  Austrian  domination. 


340 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

The  fifteenth  of  June  came,  and  with  it,  the  con- 
clusion of  my  four  years'  work  in  Vienna,  for  I 
was  to  move  to  Berlin  after  the  summer  vacation. 
I  had  resigned  from  the  clinic  and  given  notice  that 
I  would  vacate  my  apartment.  I  meant  to  spend 
two  weeks  in  seeing  in  freedom  a  little  of  the  old 
city  and  in  parting  with  the  friends  I  had  had  time 
to  make  during  the  long  sojourn. 

It  was  my  plan  to  use  this  summer  in  one  last  at- 
tempt in  Gisela's  interest.  The  date  of  her  ma- 
jority was,  now,  only  two  days  away.  I  had  not 
forgotten  it,  but  I  attached  little  importance  to  the 
day  itself  now,  because  I  conceived  that  her  legal 
status,  whatever  it  be,  was  settled  by  now,  and  that 
the  decision  only  remained.  This  I  supposed  would 
be  given  in  the  course  of  a  formal  legal  proceeding 
at  least,  and  possibly  of  a  lengthy  lawsuit,  in  which 
all  the  parties  in  interest  would  have  due  notice  and 
a  hearing.  Thus  Gisela  had  a  battle  in  court  be- 
fore her,  and  I  determined  that  the  support  and 
needed  funds  for  this  should  be  available  if  neces- 
sary at  my  own  expense.  In  short,  after  saying 
goodbye  to  Vienna  I  meant  to  employ  the  attorney 
I  had  consulted,  go  to  Cattaro  if  necessary  and  pick 
up  the  threads  of  the  affair  there,  and  devote  my- 
self to  winning  for  her  if  I  could,  and  if  not,  at 
least  to  win  her. 

One  drizzling  night  about  ten  days  after  I  had 
left  the  clinic  I  was  returning  home  late,  and  as  I 
rounded  the  corner  into  my  street  I  felt  a  hand  on 
my  arm.  The  corner  was  in  shadow  and  thinking 
her  a  poor  girl  of  the  streets,  I  was  passing  on  with- 
out words  when  I  heard  my  name  pronounced. 

"Signer  Ransome!" 

The  tone  was  low  but  it  stopped  me  short.  I 
peered  at  her  under  my  umbrella  in  unbelief. 

34i 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Gisela!     Is  it  you?" 

"Yes,  Signer,  alas!  Did  you  not  get  my  tele- 
gram ?" 

"Telegram?    No!" 

"I  sent  one  asking  you  to  meet  me  at  the  station. 
You  were  not  there,  and  I  came  to  your  house. 
There  was  no  light  in  your  rooms  and  I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  ring  for  the  hausmeister,  so  I  have 
been  waiting  in  the  hope  you  were  out  and  that  I 
would  see  you  come  home." 

"Poor  dear  child !    How  long  have  you  waited  ?" 

"About  two  hours,  Signor." 

I  felt  her  skirt.    It  was  soaked. 

"You  have  no  place  to  go,  then?" 

"No,  Signor.     I  hoped  you  would  arrange  that." 

"You  must  go  to  a  hotel  to-night,  Gisela,  and  I'll 
arrange  for  you  the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  I 
don't  know  if  your  old  landlady  has  any  rooms 
free.  Did  the  cab  bring  you  to  our  door  ?" 

"No,  I  dismissed  him  at  this  corner.  My  trunks 
had  not  come  and  I  have  only  my  satchel  which  is 
in  a  window  over  there.  Signor — there  is  a  reason 
why  I  do  not  wish  to  go  to  a  hotel.  Let  me  have 
your  rooms  to-night." 

"Hum.  Of  course  I  could  give  them  up  to  you, 
but  my  servant  will  know  you  are  there.  I  fear 
that  will  not  do,  my  child." 

"It  does  not  matter,  Signor." 

But  it  did  matter.  I  decided  to  call  up  the  land- 
lady and  if  she  had  no  room  free,  she  could  give 
Gisela  her  own  and  take  mine  for  the  night.  Gisela 
agreed  to  this. 

As  we  entered  the  house  I  explained  to  the  haus- 
meister that  the  Signorina  had  arrived  unexpected- 
ly.    He  concealed  his  surprise. 
342 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"There  is  a  telegram  in  your  letter  box,  Herr 
Doktor.  It  came  at  half  past  six." 

I  took  it  out  and  read  it. 

"Yes,  here  is  your  telegram,  Signorina." 

I  asked  the  hausmeister  to  leave  the  lights  on 
until  I  came  down  again.  As  we  started  upstairs 
I  glanced  at  her.  She  was  wearing  the  mask  but 
seemed  to  be  in  a  high  state  of  nervous  tension. 

"You  are  tired,  Gisela,  but  a  good  night's  rest 
will  put  you  to  rights.  Now  don't  run  away  from 
me  again!  I'll  come  up  in  the  morning  at  eleven 
for  I  must  have  a  talk  with  you  as  soon  as  possible. 
Don't  run  away  from  me  again — ever  again — will 
you,  Gisela?" 

"No,  Signor,  I  won't  run  away  again.  It  does 
not  matter  now.  Nothing  matters  any  more.  But 
come  to-morrow  afternoon.  In  the  morning  I  must 
get  my  trunks" 

"I'll  do  that  for  you.  Give  me  your  baggage  re- 
ceipt and  keys." 

She  objected  to  this,  saying  there  were  reasons 
why  she  would  rather  get  them  herself.  After 
ringing  five  minutes  a  sleepy  and  disheveled  maid 
came  to  the  door. 

"Call  the  Gnadige  Frau,  Rosa." 

The  good  landlady  came  after  some  moments, 
blinking  from  her  first  sleep.  She  looked  at  Gisela. 

"Dete  moje!"  she  screamed,  and  in  an  instant 
they  were  in  each  other's  arms. 

The  following  afternoon  I  found  Gisela  installed 
in  her  former  rooms,  her  landlady  having  arranged 
this  that  morning  as  a  pleasant  surprise  for  her 
when  she  returned  with  her  trunks.  Gisela  seemed 
glad  to  see  me — more  so  than  usual,  but  seemed 
preoccupied,  and  wore  ever  the  mask.  I  suppose  I 
should  explain  more  clearly  what  this  mask  was. 

343 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Such  an  explanation  must  necessarily  be  incom- 
plete, because  there  were  elements  therein  which  I 
could  not  read  at  all ;  else  it  had  been  no  mask.  But 
in  the  main  it  was  that  impassive,  lay-like  counte- 
nance which  sometimes  comes  to  people  who  have 
had  continuous  disappointments,  and  who  come, 
after  awhile,  to  take  disappointments  as  a  matter  of 
course; — a  face  which  is  like  a  stone  smoothened 
by  constant  attrition  against  other  stones.  But  that 
was  not  all.  Hers  was  also  the  face  which  comes 
to  those  who  have  great  fixity  of  purpose  and  from 
whom  disappointments  and  irrelative  considerations 
fall  away  as  water  from  the  stone.  More  of  the 
mask  I  could  not  read;  and  this  much  only  uncer- 
tainly. 

And  I  must  explain  still  further  that  this  mask 
was  not  all  that  disturbed  me.  As  one  sees  the 
moving  eyes  of  the  person  deep  behind  the  eye-holes 
in  the  mask,  so  behind  that  of  Gisela  I  was  aware 
of  a  certain  condition  of  mind  which  I  can  but  de- 
scribe by  the  word  elevation;  the  same  elevation 
which  is  seen  in  the  earnest  Christian,  when,  having 
suffered  some  great  misfortune,  he  thanks  God  for 
having  selected  him  (the  unfortunate  one)  for  an 
example  upon  which  to  display  His  power ;  the  ele- 
vation of  the  martyr,  in  short. 

On  my  side,  I  had  determined  to  forget  the  past, 
and  to  win  and  marry  her.  I  fondly  told  myself 
that  I  was  under  no  self-deceit.  But  I  reasoned 
that  if  a  young  girl  fall  under  such  special  tempta- 
tions and  disadvantages  as  Gisela  had  been  under, 
the  question  for  her  later  lover  is  not  "has  she 
sinned?"  but  "has  she  been  spoiled ?"  Usually  a 
young  girl  is  spoiled  in  such  a  case ;  for  her  ideals 
are  her  life,  and  these  once  destroyed,  she  becomes 
forever  afterward  an  autumn  leaf  at  the  list  of 
344 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

every  wind  that  blows;  or,  if  she  have  a  will  and 
some  masculinity,  she  becomes  a  deliberate  dis- 
ciple of  selfish  pleasure  and  scheming  self-interest. 

But  I  was  seeing  Gisela  with  another  mind  now, 
and  I  could  not  look  upon  her  as  spoiled.  Honor, 
for  example,  she  had  in  plenty.  It  was  shown  in 
her  imperious  refusal  to  take  refuge  in  a  lie  when  I 
had  indirectly  demanded  an  accounting  of  her  time 
between  leaving  home  and  Christmas  Eve.  Unsel- 
fishness ;  she  had  refused  a  mere  marriage  of  con- 
venience, although  so  suited  to  her  every  purpose. 
She  still  had  her  ideals ;  she  would  have  no  mar- 
riage without  love — at  least  on  my  side.  A  wom- 
an who  has  preserved  these  three  things  is  not 
spoiled. 

I  told  myself  that  I  had  left  but  one  question  to 
ask  her,  and  that  was  if  she  thought  it  possible 
that,  now  at  least,  she  could  love  me  better  than 
she  had,  or  could,  any  other  man,  and  I  determined 
to  open  wide  that  gate  this  very  afternoon. 

"Signer,  you  have  been  examining  me  critically 
for  long  enough  to  read  ten  such  poor  books.  I 
am  not  worth  it." 

"Not  worth  it!  Gisela  that  is  the  first  falsehood 
I  ever  have  heard  you  utter !  If  you  on  your  side 
had  read  my  mind  you  would  find  little  reason  to 
complain  of  me." 

"I  never  have  had  cause  to  complain  of  you, 
Signer!  You  have" 

"You  have  had  plenty  of  reason,  dear  child !  But, 
while  I  do  not  altogether  understand  you  yet,  still 
I  know  you  better  than  I  did.  I  know  you  well 
enough  now  that  I  am  going,  from  now  on,  to  keep 
you  always  with  me,  if  I  can.  I  love  you,  Gisela. 
I  have,  since  I  first  saw  you  three  years  ago.  Marry 
me  and  let  me  have  you  always  by  me !" 
345 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

For  a  moment  the  mask  was  off  and  a  look  of 
pain  came  over  her  face.  But  as  I  was  about  to 
rise  and  go  to  her,  her  old  expression  returned,  as 
it  seemed,  by  a  positive  act  of  will.  She  put  up 
both  hands  as  if  to  ward  me  off,  and  I  sank  back 
into  my  chair.  She  was  silent  some  moments  and 
outwardly  calm,  except  for  the  clasping  and  un- 
clasping of  her  hands.  Her  head  was  high  but  she 
would  not  look  at  me. 

"Gisela,  are  you  still  angry  with  me?" 

"I  have  never  really  been  angry  with  you,  Signor. 
You  do  not  understand." 

"Then  disappointed  in  me." 

"Nor  am  I  disappointed.  On  the  contrary  I  have 
honored  you  more  and  more  every  day  since  I  have 
come  really  to  know  you.  I  have  had  every  reason 
to  do  so.  Why,  Signor,  except  Cecilie,  you  are  the 
one  true  friend  I  have  ever  had!  And  you  have 
been  true;  true  as  gold!  True  from  first  to  last 
and  all  of  the  time !  I  know  that,  now,  Eduard." 

"Then  it  is  simply  that  you  do  not  love  me." 

"You  are  wrong  again,  Eduard.  It  is  precisely 
because  I  do  love  you,  that  I  will  not  marry  you." 

"I  confess  I  cannot  understand  that  reason.  If 
you  love  me,  it  should  be  very  simple !" 

"No.  You  do  not  understand,  and  I  cannot  help 
you.  Perhaps  the  day  may  come  when  you  will 
understand.  But  I  cannot  explain  it  to  you  now." 

"Gisela,  I  will  speak  plainly.  I  know  most  that 
has  occurred.  I  shall  never  ask  you  a  question 
about  your  life  the  last  three  years.  Let  all  that 
pass  and  be  forgotten.  .  Just  come  to  me,  dear,  and 
let  me  love  you  for  the  rest  of  the  years  we  may 
have  together." 

"Eduard,  /  can  not!     I — I — do  not — press  it!    I 
can  not — tell  you  more — but — it  can  not  be!" 
346 


The   'Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Do  you  love  me  ?" 

"Yes,  yes,  Eduard.  God  knows  I  do!  I  have 
loved  you  from  the  beginning!  Always — always! 
— But  that  does  not  help  me  now,  dear.  Eduard, 
I —  Don't  talk  of  it  more,  dear !" 

The  mask  was  off  now.  Her  face  was  agonized, 
and  the  tears  came.  But  she  gulped  and  controlled 
herself.  She  dried  her  eyes  and  gazed  at  me  stead- 
ily for  a  moment,  then  rose  from  her  chair. 

"One  moment — one  little  moment  I  will  have!" 
she  muttered,  half  to  herself. 

She  came  up  to  me. 

"Come  dear, — one  little  moment — one  dear, 
sweet  moment,  I  will  have !" 

Her  arms  went  about  my  neck  and  she  held  me 
so  convulsively,  that  woman  as  she  was,  I  had  to 
make  an  effort  to  take  breath.  The  moment  was 
very  sweet,  but  it  was  only  a  moment.  Our  lips 
met  but  once,  and  then  she  tried  to  push  me  away. 
I  would  not  let  her  go. 

"Loose  me,  dear !" — and  her  head  went  down.  I 
kissed  the  pretty  head  again  and  again  but  did  not 
obey.  Then  for  a  moment  she  made  no  further 
resistance.  Suddenly  and  with  unexpected  strength 
she  tore  herself  loose  at  the  penalty  of  flying  combs 
and  the  falling  round  about  her  shoulders  of  her 
wealth  of  beautiful  hair. 

She  smiled  a  very  little  as  she  stood  off  and 
rapidly  put  it  up  again. 

"I  am  sorry  you  should  see  me  in  such  dishevel- 
ment,  Signor." 

"Truly  the  glory  of  womanhood  is  her  hair  when 
it  is  like  yours!" 

"There  are  some  white  threads  in  it." 

"They  must  be  very  lonely  in  that  black  cloud! 
I  would  like  to  take  them  to  my  heart !" 
347 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

•'They  would  find  no  blackness  there.  No,  please 
take  your  chair,  dear.  My  word  for  it,  I'll  never 
risk  you  again !  But  I  shall  have  this  much  to  re- 
member, at  least." 

"Oh  Gisela,  Gisela,  what  can  I  say !  Help  me  to 
find  you,  child!  I  have  tried  to  say  everything  I 
could,  but  I  am  dull.  You  are  right! — I  do  not 
understand.  But,  Gisela,  dear  Gisela,  if  loving  you 
very  truly,  thinking  of  nothing  else  in  the  world 
but  you  and  you  alone — a  love  that  has  had  its  trial 
of  nearly  three  years  of  separation — if  this  de- 
serves anything,  dear,  I  deserve  "to  succeed.  Let 
understanding  go  to  the — winds !  Don't  debate 
and  think  about  it  more  if  you  love  me  as  you  say ! 
People  who  get  into  the  habit  of  thinking  and 
thinking  get  after  awhile  so  they  can  decide  on 
nothing  at  all !  You  say  you  love  me ;  you  even  say 
you  have  loved  me  from  the  first.  That  would  be 
three  years,  too.  There  is  nothing  between  us. 
There  can  be,  could  be,  nothing  between  us.  If  I 
be  dull,  I  have  at  least  outgrown  the  foolishness  of 
expecting  too  much  of  a  mere  human  being  like 
myself.  Let  the  past  be  forgotten.  I  had  only 
one  question  to  ask  you  this  afternoon.  That 
was  if  you  could  now  love  me  better  than  you  ever 
have  or  could  love,  any  other  man.  That  question 
is  already  answered.  What  more  is  there?  You 
know  I  love  you,  don't  you  dear?  Are  you  in  any 
doubt  about  that?" 

"No,  Eduard.    I  have  no  doubts  of  you  now." 
She  had  gone  to  the  window  and  was  looking  out 
and  had  her  back  to  me. 

"Then  what  more  is  there,  Gisela?" 
She   remained   at  the   window   a   long  time  in 
silence.    I    saw  her  handkerchief   go   to   her  eyes 
once,  but  afterwards  she  had  straightened  up  and 

348 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  saw  that  the  hand  which  grasped  the  window-sill 
was  white  with  tension. 

"I  can  not — bear  this — longer,  Eduard!  Do  you 
wish  me  to — run — away  again — dear?" 

"God  forbid !    I  am  silent,  Gisela !" 

For  some  moments  longer  she  remained  at  the 
window  and  I  watched  her  in  silence.  When  at 
last  she  turned  to  resume  her  chair,  the  mask  was 
on  once  more,  and  she  was  as  she  had  been  in  the 
beginning  of  our  interview.  Thenceforth  her 
speech  was  dignified  and  without  emotion. 

"If  I  have  allowed  this  to  go  so  far  it  was  from 
no  lack  of  determination.  I  love  you  and  know 
well  that  you  love  me.  I  have  known  that  you 
were  true  ever  since  shortly  after  you  brought 
Cecilie  and  me  here.  She  had  told  me  all,  includ- 
ing your  support  of  me,  Signer.  I  understand 
what  you  mean  by  suggesting  a  burying  of  the  past. 
There  is  no  past  to  bury,  dear.  I  can  not  tell  you 
of  those  months  which  have  puzzled  you — but  I 
did  nothing  I  would  be  ashamed  to  have  you  know. 
But  I  can  not  discuss  this  with  you.  Any  way, 
that  has  nothing  to  do  with  my  resolve  never  to 
marry; — for  that  is  it,  dear.  It  is  not  that  I  will 
not  marry  you ;  I  shall  never  marry  at  all,  Eduard." 

She  pressed  her  handkerchief  to  her  lips,  and 
then  folded  her  hands  in  her  lap  and  kept  her  eyes 
upon  them. 

"I  can  not  tell  you  why  I  have  decided  never  to 
marry.  It  is  for  a  reason  you  do  not  guess.  You 
will  know  what  it  is  some  day,  but  I  can  not  tell 
you  now.  And  now,  dear  Eduard,  let  us  dismiss 
this  subject  and  talk  of  something  else.  No,  do 
not  go ;  only,  let  us  talk  of  other  things,  dear." 

I  did  not  feel  that  I  did,  or  could  give  her  up. 
Her  words  were  final  enough,  but  the  knowledge 
349 


The   Accursed   Roccos 

that  she  loved  me  was  now  settled,  and  in  the  face 
of  that  I  could  not  feel  that  I  would  have  to  give 
her  up.  But  it  was  clear  that  I  would  have  to  wait. 
Well,  if  that  were  all,  I  could  wait. 

"May  we  talk  of  Cecilie,  Gisela?" 

"Of  a  surety!  Is  she  not  my  other— even  if 
lesser — friend  ?" 

"You  say  she  told  you  that  I  helped  in  your  sup- 
port. That  was  a  black  and  summary  violation  of 
a  solemn  sworn  treaty !" 

Gisela  laughed  a  little. 

"Did  you  think  me  so  dull?  Where  should 
Cecilie  find  the  money  for  us  to  live  as  we  were 
doing  after  we  came  here?  I  taxed  her  with  it, 
and  she  couldn't  tell  me  an  untruth.  I  did  not 
know  it  for  a  time  and  was  puzzled — only  after  we 
came  here  and  lived  so  much  better  and  I  found 
you  and  Cecilie  acquainted  did  I  guess." 

"Did  finding  that  out  cause  you  to  run  away?" 

"Oh,  no,  Signer,  that  was  for  quite  another  rea- 
son. I  always  planned  to  pay  you  back.  Alas !" 

"Pshaw !    Do  you  know  where  Cecilie  is  now  ?" 

"Oh,  yes.  She  is  in  Berlin.  She  was  engaged 
by  the  opera  management.  I  was  so  glad — it  was 
one  bright  spot  in  a  very  black  time !" 

"It  is  good  news  indeed!  But  have  you  been 
long  in  correspondence  with  her?" 

"We  never  broke  off  correspondence." 

"Oh  the  close  mouthed  Cecilie!  She  knew 
where  you  were,  all  of  the  time?  Well!  Now 
I  have  a  good  deal  to  forgive  her !  She  knew  how  I 
felt — how  could  she  see  it  and  never  give  me  one 
little  word!  She  practicaly  cut  me  for  weeks  be- 
fore she  left.  Did  she  know  beforehand  that  you 
were  going  to  run  away?" 

"Oh,  no,  Signor — I  wrote  her  after  I  had  gone. 
350 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

She  wrote  me  that  she  was  avoiding  you — she 
wrote  that  she  couldn't  bear  to  look  at  you,  and 
was  afraid  she  would  have  to'  tell  you.  She  made 
love  to  me  for  you  in  every  letter  she  wrote." 

"God  bless,  Cecilie!    I'll  never  forget  that!" 

"Yes,  she  is  a  true  friend  of  both  of  us.  I  hoped 
your  friend  would  like  her." 

"Harry  is  a  queer  fellow.  As  boys  I  never  knew 
him  to  make  up  to  a  girl,  nor  has  he  shown  any 
tendency  that  way  since  I  ran  across  him  again. 
He  appears  to  have  wedded  his  art." 

"He  seemed  to  like  my  cousin  when  we  were  in 
Cattaro." 

"Yes,  and  afterwards  here  in  Vienna.  But  it 
was  her  art  that  attracted  him.  I  am  perfectly 
certain  that  as  a  woman  she  attracted  him  not  at 
all.  As  far  as  I  know  they  did  not  meet  when  he 
gave  his  concerts  here  last  March,  although  I  saw 
her  in  the  front  chairs  both  evenings." 

"So  muc^  the  better  for  him.  I  should  be  sorry 
to  hear  that  she  had  the  least  influence  over  him. 
It  would  not  be  for  his  good." 

After  a  moment. 

"She  now  stands  in  my  place,  Signer." 

"How  so?"    . 

"She  has  my  patrimony  " 

"Has  it  I" 

"Yes,  Signor." 

"Why,  Gisela!  How  can  that  be?  Of  course  I 
know  that  the  day  of  your  majority  is  past  but  the 
final  settling  will  have  to  be  by  court.  Did  you  not 
know  that?  They  must  give  you  a  formal  hearing 
in  court  before  they  can  take  your  patrimony  away 
from  you,  Gisela!  Do  you  understand  what  I 
mean?  You  must  have  a  notification — a  summons 
from  the  court — and  must  go  into  court  and  be 
351 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

questioned  there.  Without  that  they  cannot  touch 
a  heller  of  your  estate.  Did  you  have  such  a  sum- 
mons ?" 

"Oh  yes,  dear,"  she  answered  wearily.  "I  was 
cited  to  appear,  but  I  did  not  go.  They  decided  it 
on  the  next  day  after  I  came  of  age.  I  had  had 
notice  long  before." 

"You  did  not  go!" 

"No,  Eduard.  It  had  in  reality  been  settled 
weeks  before." 

"Why,  Gisela!  I  can  not  help  but  believe  you 
have  been  deceived  and  tricked  somehow !  I  was 
planning  to  help  you  in  this,  and  to  carry  on  the 
lawsuit  for  you ;  because  I  knew  you  did  not  have 
the  money  to  fight  them.  Tell  me  all  about  it.  If 
they  have  deceived  you  in  any  way  we  can  reopen 
the  case.  That  much  is  certain !" 

"No,  Eduard,  we  can  not  reopen  it.  As  I  tell  you, 
it  was  settled  weeks  beforehand.  They  claimed  the 
estate  under  the  terms  of  the  will,  and  I  was  so 
situated  that  I  did  not  dare  make  any  defence. 
Therefore  I  let  them  take  it.  I  now  have  only  Le 
Tre  Sorelle." 

That  this  communication  led  me  into  the  veriest 
quagmire  of  mystification,  need  hardly  be  stated 
here.  Awhile  before  she  had  told  me  she  had  done 
nothing  she  would  be  ashamed  to  have  me  know. 
Now  she  told  me  she  had  lost  under  the  terms  of 
the  will  and  because  she  did  not  dare  make  a  de- 
fence. She  saw  my  helplessness,  and  under- 
stood it. 

"Eduard,  dear,  I  repeat  I  have  lived  above  re- 
proach; absolutely.  I  must  tell  you  that  much. 
Still,  I  did  not  dare  to  make  a  defence.  The  reason 
I  did  not  dare  is,  like  my  reason  for  never  marry- 
ing, one  I  can  not  explain.  But  the  reason  was 
352 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

real.  There  was  no  playing  with  my  intelligence. 
I  knew  what  they  needed  to  do  before  they  could 
take  my  patrimony,  and  I  knew  you  could  and 
would  help  me  fight  them.  I  intended  to  ask  it  of 
you,  because  I  knew  I  would  be  welcome  to  the 
help  from  you.  But  this  reason  came  up  and  ab- 
solutely tied  me  hand  and  foot.  I  can  explain  no 
further,  dear." 

"And  does  the  reason  still  hold?" 

"A  sequence  of  it  does — quite  as  much  as  ever — 
even  more." 

I  refused  to  believe  it,  and  urged  her  to  let  me 
reopen  the  case.  I  explained  the  views  of  the 
attorney;  explained  the  possibility  of  recovering 
the  estate.  I  assured  her  that  the  funds  for  the 
fight  should  be  forthcoming.  She  only  answered 
that  she  understood  this  all,  but  there  was  no  use. 
She  had  lost  finally  because  she  did  not  dare  fight 
them,  and  finally  begged  me  to  say  no  more  of  the 
matter. 

"Well,  one  more  thing  at  least  and  I  have  done. 
Did  the  entering  of  the  sanctuary  of  the  Greek 
Cathedral  at  Cattaro  have  anything  to  do  with 
this?" 

"Oh,  no,  Signer.  I  was  terribly  frightened  that 
day  but  the  reason  for  losing  my  patrimony  was 
far  far  graver  than  that." 

"And  you  can  not  tell  me  what  it  was  ?  Remem- 
ber, I  only  ask  to  know  in  order  to  put  my  man's 
better  experience  at  your  service,  Gisela." 

"No,  Signor.  And  nothing  can  be  done.  Do  not 
worry  about  it  longer." 

"Any  time  you  will  change  your  mind  let  me 
know,  dear." 

"I'll  not  change.  Nothing  can  be  done,  dear 
friend." 

353 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  considered. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?    Stay  in  Vienna?" 

"For  a  few  days.    Perhaps  longer." 

"Have  you  funds?" 

"Enough  for  the  present,  Signor." 

"But  that  is  no  future.  Better  marry  me,  dear. 
I  am  the  one  to  come  to — the  one  who  loves 
you  and  wants  you.  I  am  about  to  leave  Vienna 
and  next  year  I  will  be  in  Berlin.  You  can  see 
Cecilie  there.  Marry  me  dear.  If  you  forbid  me 
again  I'll  say  no  more  for  at  least  a  month,  but  I 
shall  keep  on  hoping.  But  I  ask  it  once  more  at 
least.  I  love  you,  dear.  Marry  me  and  you  shall 
have  no  more  cares.  I'll  see  to  that!" 

"Once  more,  Eduard,  I  can  not.  You  will  know 
why  in  due  time." 

"Once  more  Gisela,  if  you  love  me,  there  is 
nothing  between  us." 

"I  understand.  I  love  you,  and  love  you  no  less 
for  the  way  you  have  spoken  to-day.  I  will  be 
plain,  so  you  will  know  that  I  understood  you. 
Believing  me  to  have  fallen,  you  are  still  willing  to 
take  me.  You  see,  I  understand.  But  you  do  not 
understand,  dear,  and,  once  more,  I  can  not  help 
you.  Once  more  and  finally,  dear,  dear  Eduard,  I 
can  never  marry — never  at  all." 

She  reached  for  my  hand  and  wrung  it  but  would 
not  draw  nearer  to  me. 

"I  do  not  and  cannot  take  this  as  final.  Since 
you  will  not  marry  me  now  I  can  wait,  and  remem- 
ber— I  shall  wait.  Just  as  long  as  I  must.  You 
say  I  shall  know  your  reason  some  day.  Very  well. 
If  I  must,  I  shall  wait  until  I  know  your  reason. 
When  I  then  ask  you  I  shall  hope  for  a  different 
answer,  Gisela.  For  the  present,  then,  I  will  say 
no  more.  But  remember — I  do  not  give  you  up." 
354 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"It  is  folly,  dear.  The  day  will  come  when  you 
will  be  glad  I  answered  so.  Now  no  more — if  you 
love  me,  Eduard." 

But  I  refused  to  be  down-hearted.  I  was  sure  I 
would  not  be  glad  and  that  I  would  ask  her  again 
at  some  later  day  with  more  success.  Of  course  I 
couldn't  be  depressed.  She  loved  me,  and  had 
from  the  first.  She  had  said  so  and  I  was  certain 
she  had,  or  she  would  never  have  told  me  so.  In 
that  knowledge  I  could  wait  a  little  while — or  even 
a  long  while. 

"I  have  another  piece  of  news  for  you,  Signer." 

"Indeed,  Gisela?    What  is  it?" 

"My  cousin  and  the  Ingenieur  are  to  be  married 
on  the  thirtieth." 

"Ah.  Well,  that  is  no  surprise — though  when  I 
called  she  told  me  that  the  matter  was  off." 

"Not  for  long" — her  face  exhibited  a  passing 
sneer. 

"Where  are  they  to  be  married?" 

"Here  in  Vienna.  My  cousin  wished  it,  it  seems. 
They  are  all  coming  up  from  Cattaro — except  my 
aunt." 

"How  did  you  learn  of  it?" 

"I  correspond  with  Amalia  Sbutega — the  daugh- 
ter of  the  banker,  you  know.  She  wrote  me 
about  it." 

"The  Ingenieur  has  lost  no  time,"  I  muttered. 

"No.  He  has  only  waited  until  she  was  sure  of 
the  property." 

"I  wonder  Lubitza  would  take  him  under  the 
circumstances." 

"Oh,  one  man  more  or  less  does  not  matter  to 
my  cousin." 

There  was  no  especial  bitterness  in  the  remark. 
355 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

It  was  uttered  as  a  mere  statement  of  fact;  and 
such  it  was. 

"Signer,  I  have  a  favor  to  ask  of  you." 

"At  last! — I  am  glad  to  hear  that.  It  is  yours! 
What  is  it?" 

"I  have  a  wish  to  witness  the  ceremony.  Will 
you  take  me?" 

I  stared.  Of  all  unexpected  incidents  in  my  life 
this  capped  the  climax !  She  wished  to  witness  the 
wedding  between  the  Ingenieur  and  her  cousin! 
The  wedding  of  the  cousin  she  had  hated  all  her 
life,  and  the  Ingenieur  whom  she  professed  so  to 
despise!  Why  was  this? 

It  was  the  first  thing  she  had  ever  said  or  done 
to  rouse  a  spark  of  jealousy  in  me; — but  this  did — 
plenty  of  it. 

Was  she  befooling  me,  after  all?  Why?  She 
did  not  wish  to  marry  me  nor  did  she  desire  favors 
of  any  account,  and  still  again  she  was  not  the  type 
that  lies  and  deceives  on  principle.  No,  that  was 
not  it.  But  was  it — could  it — be  possible,  that  she 
loved  both  of  us?  Each  in  a  different  way,  per- 
haps? 

After  all,  I  must  always  face  the  fact  that  she 
had  run  away  from  home  to  join  him.  I  might 
believe  her  words  that  she  had  kept  herself  actually 
clean;  and  I  might  otherwise  gloss  over,  minimize 
and  veil  this  event,  but  it  remained  a  fact — and 
carried  its  own  atmosphere  with  it. 

After  all,  by  what  law  of  Nature  are  we  to  love 
but  once?  That  is  not  Nature's  law  at  all,  but  an 
artificial — a  human  made  notion,  rooted  in  the  self- 
ish jealousy  of  the  mate.  And  if  by  Nature's  law 
we  may  love  more  than  once,  why  not  more  than 
once  at  the  same  time?  And  honestly — and  clean- 
ly, too  ?  Love  is  not  a  simple  affair  of  one  strand — 
356 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

it  is  a  complex  and  very  tangled  skein  which  en- 
twines several  widely  different  sides  of  our  natures. 
Must  all  of  its  threads  proceed  to  one  and  the  same 
object?  One  and  the  same  person?  Every  -one 
who  has  eyes  that  will  see  and  ears  that  will  hear, 
knows  that  this  is  not  even  the  rule; — even  among 
the  best  of  people.  We  do  not  have  to  yield  to  it ; 
but  that  heritage  from  Nature,  the  tendency  to  have 
more  foci  than  one,  has  never  yet  been  rooted  out. 

So,  as  I  thought,  the  light  broke.  Gisela  loved 
us  both.  That  cleared  up  everything  that  was 
dark; — why,  although  she  had  loved  me,  she  had 
gone  to  join  him  when  I  was  no  longer  by;  why 
she  would  not  marry  me — I  had  her  respect  and 
her  best  in  general,  and  she  would  not  come  to  me 
with  another  love  on  her  conscience ;  why  she 
would  never  marry  at  all — the  Ingenieur  was  to 
marry  her  cousin ;  and  not  respecting  him,  perhaps 
she  would  not  have  taken  him,  either.  Why  she 
would  not  tell  me  the  reason,  and  why  she  was  so 
sure  that  if  ever  I  learned  it,  I  would  say  she  was 
right.  Yes,  I  "understood"  at  last! 

"Is  it  so  much  to  ask,  Signor,  that  you  must  con- 
sider it  so  long?" 

"No,  Gisela,"  I  answered,  sadly  enough.  "So 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  it  is  a  very  little  favor  in- 
deed." 

"Why,  then,  the  debate?" 

"Is  it  best,  Gisela  ?  Would  it  not  be  a  very  great 
intrusion?  I  am  not  expecting  cards  from  your 
cousin!  Not  after  our  last  interview!" 

"Oh,  we  will  not  go  among  the  guests,  and  a 
church  is  never  closed  to  people  because  of  a  wed- 
ding. It  will  be  in  St.  Cecilia's  Church." 

"St.  Cecilia's  Church!  Why,  that  is  Roman 
Catholic !  I  thought"— 

357 


The   Occurs 'ed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  forgot  to  tell  you,  Signer,  that  all  my  people 
except  Paulo  have  changed  to  the  Roman  faith. 
We  had  always  been  Roman  up  to  my  father's 
time,  so  it  is  but  a  return  to  former  things.  As  for 
the  Ingenieur,  he  has  always  been  Roman — as  far 
as  he  is  anything — and  the  selection  of  the  church 
was,  no  doubt,  his.  I  don't  know  why  they  chose 
that  particular  church." 

"So  their  wedding  will  be  in  St.  Cecilia's  Church. 
Well?" 

"Yes.  They  will  come  in  at  the  main  entrance, 
of  course.  We  can  go  in  at  the  side  door  in  the  rear. 
I  have  been  there  and  know  the  church.  We  can 
remain  in  shadow  in  the  corner  at  the  rear  entrance 
until  the  ceremony  begins  than  we  can  walk  a  little 
forward  along  the  columns.  Thus  we  can  see  with- 
out their  seeing  us." 

I  hesitated,  but  after  all  what  harm  could  there 
be  in  it?  They  would  not  see  us,  nor  even  know 
that  we  had  been  there.  Besides,  as  always  in  a 
church,  there  would  be  other  uninvited  onlookers. 

"Very,  well,  Gisela.  I'll  go  and  see  the  verger 
and  arrange  for  it." 

"No !  No !  Eduard.  He  might  speak  of  it,  and 
I  wouldn't  have  my  cousin  know  I  went  for  all 
Vienna!  No,  let  us  just  quietly  go  at  the  hour 
appointed.  If  we  can  not  walk  in  we  can  give  it 
up — but  don't  mention  it  to  anybody — will  you, 
Eduard?" 

It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  she  did  not 
wish  to  risk  Lubitza  hearing  of  it.  I  agreed  to  go, 
as  she  wished;  and  as  Gisela  seemed  tired  I  very 
shortly  took  my  departure — not  in  the  good  spirits 
and  hopeful  mood  with  which  I  had  come  and 
which  had  remained  with  me  until  our  last  few 
words. 

358 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  morning  of  the  thirtieth  dawned  in  brilliant 
sunshine  and  according  to  arrangements  I  ordered 
a  fiaker  to  take  Gisela  to  the  church.  During  our 
drive  there  she  was  very  quiet  and  sat  uncompro- 
misingly in  her  own  corner  of  the  carriage  and  I 
did  not  offer  to  disturb  her  by  word  or  look.  I 
could  not  read  an  iota  of  her  thoughts,  nor  did  I 
seek  to  do  so,  being  buried  in  my  own  gloomy  fore- 
bodings as  to  the  future. 

We  dismissed  our  fiaker  shortly  before  reaching 
the  cathedral,  and  walked  the  remaining  distance, 
arriving  about  a  quarter  to  twelve.  We  followed 
the  curve  of  the  apse  to  a  small  side  door  behind 
the  transept  and  silently  entered.  On  arriving,  the 
the  right  transept  had  prevented  our  seeing  the 
front  of  the  church,  but  now  looking  down  through 
the  nave  we  saw  that  the  wedding  party  had  just 
arrived. 

St.  Cecilia's  is  an  unusually  gloomy  cathedral. 
The  great  picture  windows  allowed  the  play  of  a 
kaleidoscope  of  colors,  chiefly  reds,  upon  the  floors 
and  columns,  accentuating  the  dark  corners  and 
throwing  long  mysterious  shadows  across  the  nave 
and  aisles.  The  slender  but  powerful  gothic  col- 
umns rose  high  above  our  heads  to  the  mingled 
light  and  gloom  of  the  clere-story  above,  the  vault- 
ing of  the  roof  of  the  aisles  looking  skeleton-ribbed 
in  the  shadows. 

As  our  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  relative 
gloom  of  the  church  we  saw  that  a  good  many 
people  were  scattered  in  groups  in  the  pews,  com- 
359 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

posed  largely,  as  I  saw  at  once,  of  Lubitza's  artist 
friends,  among  which  I  recognized  many  familiar 
and  well  known  faces.  The  side  aisle  was,  how- 
ever, deserted  and  there  was  no  one  to  question  our 
entrance. 

The  great  organ  began  the  wedding  march  and 
we  moved  forward  until  we  were  near  the  front 
end  of  the  screen  which  extended  between  the  side 
aisle  and  the  choir-seats,  and  here  behind  a  column, 
we  took  our  stand  and  waited  for  the  wedding 
party  to  come  in. 

The  party  entered  the  front  portal.  In  advance, 
preceded  by  two  tiny  cadets,  came  the  Ingenieur, 
with  Paulo  on  his  arm.  He  was  followed  by  two 
army  officers,  strangers  to  me.  Having  arrived  at 
the  chancel  (sanctuary)  gate  he  awaited  his  bride. 

After  some  moments  Lubitza,  on  her  father's 
arm,  came  up  the  nave.  She  was  preceded  by  two 
tiny  girls  in  white  and  followed  by  two  brides- 
maids, one  of  them  an  opera  singer  of  international 
fame,  the  other  an  operatic  neophyte  of  whom 
Lubitza  was  known  to  be  the  generous  protectress 
and  benefactress. 

Lubitza,  always  a  handsome  woman,  looked  her 
best  to-day.  She  also  looked  frankly  happy  aTfd 
satisfied  as  her  oblique  but  fine  eyes  glanced  about 
over  the  guests  in  the  pews,  all  of  whom  turned 
backwards  with  necks  craned,  to  see  the  bride  as 
she  marched  up  the  nave.  She  was  attired  in  a 
simply  made  beautifully  fitting  travelling  dress,  and 
it  was  evident  that  the  pair  was  to  depart  from 
Vienna  that  same  day. 

As  she  approached  the  sanctuary  gate  Gisela  and 
I  stood  a  little  closer  to  our  column.  Now  the  pair 
advanced  into  the  sacred  area.  The  priest  ad- 
vanced to  meet  them.  The  organ  was  stilled  and 
360 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  ceremony  began  with  the  bridal  pair  kneeling 
directly  in  a  brilliant  patch  of  rosy  light,  just  in 
front  of  the  high  altar. 

So  far  I  had  been  interested  in  the  event  and 
my  attention  had  wandered  from  Gisela ;  but  as  the 
actual  ceremony  began  I  saw  her  sink  down  upon 
the  step  which  separated  this  part  of  the  aisle  from 
that  farther  forward.  Thinking  her  faint  or  ill  I 
went  to  her,  but  she  motioned  me  away.  I  retired 
a  step  or  two  and  watched  her.  Her  back  was  to- 
ward me,  but  her  left  hand  clutched  the  choir- 
screen  above  her  head  as  she  reclined  upon  the  steps 
and  her  right  hand  was  pressed  against  her  bosom. 
The  latter  visibly  rose  and  fell,  and  now  and  then 
she  took  a  long  breath  which  elevated  her  shoul- 
ders. I  could  not  see  her  face,  but  was  aware  that 
her  gaze,  through  the  space  between  the  first  choir- 
chair  and  the  adjacent  column,  was  riveted  upon 
either  Lubitza  or  the  Ingenieur — I  could  not  tell 
which,  but  presumed  the  latter.  Her  whole  pose 
seemed  to  indicate  complete  abandonment  to  grief 
and  despair.  After  looking  about  to  see  if  any- 
one might  be  observing  her,  I  forgot  the  proceed- 
ing ceremony  and  gave  myself  up  to  bitter  thoughts 
and  feelings  among  which  a  cutting  jealousy  was 
not  wanting,  tempered  though  it  was  by  sincere 
compassion  for  her. 

Again  my  theories  recurred,  with  more  or  less 
change.  If  she  loved  us  both,  she  loved  the  Inge- 
nieur most  and  best — that  was  clear.  If  I  had  not 
had  such  a  rooted  belief  in  her  sincerity  I  would 
have  concluded  that  she  loved  him  only,  but  in  the 
face  of  past  events  and  past  words  between  us  I 
could  only  believe  that  her  love  was  divided. 

But  that  she  loved  the  Ingenieur  was  certain,  and 
now  she  was  watching  him  pass  utterly  from  her 


The   rAccursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

into  union  with  her  hated  cousin,  and  was  giving 
way  to  emotion  in  a  manner  more  definite  than  I 
had  ever  seen  her  do.  I  could  not  see  her  face, 
but  I  thought  I  could  guess  what  was  there,  and  I 
did  not  believe  this  was  the  mask  which  she  had 
worn  so  long. 

I  wondered  just  what  her  real  feelings  for  me 
could  be.  It  was  an  idle  and  thankless  speculation. 
I  could  make  nothing  of  it,  and  finally-became  buried 
in  a  maze  of  sad  memories  and  despairing  conjec- 
tures which  led  me  from  no  beginning  to  no  end, 
and  which  benumbed  my  intellect  and  even  every 
sensation  save  the  leaden  one  about  the  throat. 

Without  object  or  reason  I  turned  away  and 
paced  slowly  rearward  into  the  apse  of  the  cathe- 
dral. Here  before  a  side  chapel  a  monk  was  pray- 
ing. I  watched  him  idly.  For  the  first  and  only 
time  in  my  life  I  wondered  if  it  could  be  possible 
this  his  life  was  happier  than  that  of  us  outside. 
However,  he  was  praying — and  praying  earnestly 
with,  evidently,  great  internal  emotion.  What  for? 
For  what  boon  was  he  so  earnestly  entreating  the 
Mother  ?  Forgetf ulness  ?  Who  but  he  could  tell ! 
Perhaps  his  life  was  not  more  tranquil  than  that  of 
other  men. 

The  day  outside  was  hot  and  the  church  was 
very  cool.  I  felt  chilled.  I  walked  back  into  the 
side  aisle  and  saw  that  Gisela  had  not  changed  her 
position.  Glancing  through  the  rear  part  of  the 
choir-screen  I  saw  that  the  priest  was  just  pro- 
nouncing Lubitza  and  the  Ingenieur,  man  and  wife. 
At  the  moment  I  observed  her  Lubitza  was  looking 
up  into  the  Ingenieur's  face  with  a  proud  and  radi- 
ant countenance.  I  had  not  up  to  now  believed  her 
capable  of  such  an  expression,  there  seemed  so  much 
of  the  womanly  woman,  at  last,  in  her  face.  Was 
362 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

she  still  acting  ?  But  her  happiness  was  very  real — 
that  was  certain,  and  it  furnished  another  problem 
for  speculation  in  the  course  of  which  my  mind 
harked  back  once  more  to  the  mutual  ancestress  of 
these  two  women,  and  buried  itself  in  problems  of 
heredity.  There  was  nothing  in  the  history  of  Al- 
bina  herself,  so  far  as  I  knew  it,  which  indicated 
that  she  had  ever  loved  more  than  one  man  at  the 
same  time,  but  these  girls  were  her  descendents, 
showing  many  of  her  characters,  a  fact  indicated  by 
more  than  one  ear-mark,  and  since  they  both  had 
this  character,  I  concluded  that  it  had  come  down 
from  Albina;  and  I  cursed  her  memory. 

I  walked  to  the  side  door  of  the  church  and  out, 
blinking  in  the  bright  sunlight  and  grateful  for  the 
feeling  of  warmth  after  the  stay  in  the  cool  church. 

The  priest  was,  now,  of  course,  delivering  his 
homily  to  the  bridal  couple — his  instructions  re- 
garding right  and  proper  living  in  Christian  wed- 
lock. I  wondered  if  he  knew  of  the  facts  of  Lu- 
bitza's  and  the  Ingenieur's  past  lives.  Of  that  of 
the  bride,  he  must  know  more  or  less,  as  it  had 
been  notorious.  I  would  have  given  something  to 
hear  what  he  was  saying  to  them  and  to  see  the 
faces  of  all  three  as  it  was  said.  This,  however, 
was  not  possible  for  me,  and  I  had  to  content  my- 
self with  speculating  what  the  inner  feelings  of  a 
Catholic  clergyman  must  be,  sometimes,  as  he 
delivers  this  lecture  to  the  bridal  pair.  Surely, 
sometimes,  he  must  feel  a  well-defined  nausea. 

The  organ  once  more  rolled  out  its  mighty  peal 
and  I  hastened  back  into  the  church.  After  my 
eyesight  had  once  more  become  adjusted  to  the 
relative  gloom  of  the  cathedral,  I  saw  that  the 
bridal  procession  was  about  to  start  down  the  cen- 
ter of  the  nave. 

363 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Gisela  had  not  risen,  but  was  now  sitting,  bent 
forward,  watching  them.  I  went  to  her  and  laid 
my  hand  upon  her  shoulder.  She  started  violently 
and  looked  up. 

"Gisela,  it  is  over.  We  would  better  go  now,  be- 
fore some  one  recognizes  us." 

She  rose,  facing  me,  and  took  a  step  backward. 
Her  face  was  full  of  expression  and  her  eyes 
were  wider  and  greater  than  ever — but  the  tears 
I  was  expecting  to  see  were  not  there.  This  was  a 
passing  surprise. 

She  stood  like  a  statue  but  gazed  at  me  with  her 
face  reflecting  many  emotions.  Her  hands  clenched 
and  unclenched.  She  seemed  to  be  debating  some- 
thing— some  crisis  or  other — madly. 

"Come,  Gisela  dear,  let  us  go.  Someone  will  see 
us  and  tell  of  our  presence  here,  I  am  afraid." 

Still  she  stood  and  gazed  at  me,  without  tears, 
but  as  if  all  of  her  heart  were  in  her  eyes.  She 
half  raised  her  arms,  took  a  step  toward  me  and 
stopped  again.  She  opened  her  lips  as  if  to  speak. 
Her  right  hand  wandered  seemingly  idly  to  her 
bosom.  Then  she  closed  her  lips  and  suddenly 
seemed  to  draw  herself  together.  She  stood  up 
straighter  and  seemed  actually  to  gain  in  height. 
Her  face  lost  its  emotion  and  became  rigid.  She 
advanced  up  the  step  which  separated  us,  fell  upon 
her  knee,  took  my  hand  and,  bending  her  head, 
kissed  it.  Then  she  rose  and  hurriedly  and  broken- 
ly addressed  me: 

"Eduard, — my  love, — my  only  love, — thank  you 
for  bringing  me  today!  Thank  you  for  your  love 
— for  all  you  have  done  for  me !  I  have  read  and 
know  your  thoughts.  You  have  been  wrong,  dear, 
dear  Eduard, — as  you  shall  soon  know  now.  I 
have  loved  you  from  the  first,  and  shall  love  you 

364 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

always, — always,  until  I  die.  Goodbye,  Eduard 
dear!  Goodbye,  for  now  we  separate  forever! 
When  you  think  of  me  hereafter,  remember,  I 
could  not  help  giving  you  up,  dear.  Goodbye.  / 
love  you,  Eduard — goodbye!" 

She  wrung  my  hand  and  turned  and  sped  down 
the  side  aisle  toward  the  front  of  the  church.  The 
bridal  procession  was  now  half  way  down  the 
nave.  I  saw  Gisela  disappear  in  the  midst  of  a 
little  gathering  at  the  church  door.  Struck  dumb 
by  amazement  and  doubt,  I  made  my  way  in  the 
direction  she  had  taken,  thinking  to  have  a  word 
more  with  her.  A  good  many  of  the  wedding 
guests  were  now  crowding  hastily  out  of  the  pews 
into  the  side  aisle  in  order  to  have  a  last  look  at 
the  bridal  party,  and  by  the  time  I  reached  the 
front  of  the  church  the  bridal  party  had  nearly 
reached  the  entrance.  A  group  of  spectators,  in- 
vited and  uninvited,  filled  the  space  on  either  side 
of  the  entrance  and  the  only  clear  space  lay  di- 
rectly in  front  of  the  advancing  bridal  pair. 

I  did  not  see  Gisela  anywhere,  so  assumed  that 
she  had  left  the  church.  As  I  could  not  go  out 
just  then,  in  advance  of  the  wedding  party,  and 
thinking  to  find  Gisela  at  home  later,  I  waited  and 
turned  to  look  at  Lubitza's  smiling,  happy  face. 

Suddenly,  as  I  watched  it,  her  face  froze  into  a 
look  of  mingled  surprise  and  anger.  At  this  in- 
stant the  Ingenieur  turned  to  say  something  to 
Paulo,  who  bent  forward  to  listen.  Following  Lu- 
bitza's look,  I  saw  Gisela  advancing  hurriedly 
through  the  clear  space  to  meet  her  cousin.  Lu- 
bitza  clutched  the  Ingenieur's  arm  and  her  father 
strode  forward  from  behind,  but  quicker  than  they, 
Gisela's  lithe  figure  reached  her  cousin.  Her  hand 
went  to  her  breast  and  then  was  raised  above  her 
365 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

head.  I  saw  a  tiny  glint  of  bright  steel  and  saw 
the  glint,  with  the  speed  of  light  itself,  descend  and 
disappear  in  Lubitza's  breast. 

Lubitza  flung  her  hands  above  her  head,  but 
uttered  no  cry,  and  her  face  did  not  seem  to  indicate 
pain.  She  swayed  an  instant,  and  turned  her  face 
upward  to  the  crown  of  the  portal  of  the  cathedral. 
There  then  came  over  her  face,  for  just  one  instant, 
the  most  indescribable  look  of  horror  and  fear  I 
have  ever  witnessed.  Then  the  light  went  out  of 
her  eyes  and  face,  and  she  fell  heavily  in  a  heap 
upon  the  pavement. 

At  first  the  entire  company  stood  as  if  turned  to 
stone.  Following  this  instant  was  an  indescribable 
confusion,  screams  and  cries,  some  of  the  people 
fleeing  through  the  entrance,  others  into  the  aisles, 
a  few  crowding  up  to  the  scene  of  the  tragedy. 
The  Ingenieur  seemed  to  be  the  first  one  to  recover 
himself.  He  seized  Gisela,  and  in  a  flash  she  struck 
him,  also,  in  the  breast,  and  he  reeled  backward 
into  Paulo's  arms.  Then  she  turned,  with  her 
weapon  raised,  and  faced  the  rest,  who  fell  away 
from  her  like  chaff  before  a  gale.  She  stood  now, 
quite  alone,  and  cast  her  glance  toward  that  part 
of  the  church  where  we  had  parted,  and  called  out 
in  ringing  tones,  perfectly  audible  above  the  organ : 

"I  have  given  my  cousin  as  a  wedding  present 
the  last  of  my  inheritance  which  I  possessed.  Now 
let  it  be  known,  once  for  all,  why  I  would  not 
marry !" 

She  flung  the  stiletto  upon  the  pavement  beside 
Lubitza,  dropped  her  hands  to  her  sides,  bent  her 
head,  and  stood  waiting.  Now  a  dozen  hands 
seized  her,  and  now  the  people  from  both  inside 
and  outside  the  doors  formed  a  dense  gathering 
about  her  and  her  cousin.  I  saw  a  well-known  sur- 

366 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

geon  elbowing  his  way  through  the  crowd,  the  way 
being  opened  for  him  as  he  was  recognized.  With 
some  hazy  half-mad  idea  of  standing  by  Gisela,  I 
tried  to  reach  her,  but  it  was  impossible.  She  was 
being  taken  out  of  the  church  by  the  military  men 
and  I  could  not  even  get  to  the  door.  At  this  in- 
stant a  thought  came  to  me,  and  after  making  sure 
that  she  was  not  being  handled  roughly,  I  pressed 
to  the  back  of  the  crowd  again  and  began  to  make 
my  way  among  the  fainting  and  hysterical  women 
and  jabbering,  excited  men  up  the  side  aisle  toward 
the  rear  door. 

As  I  reached  the  step  by  the  side  of  the  choir 
I  looked  back.  The  surgeon  had  cast  a  handkerchief 
over  Lubitza's  face  and  many  hands  had  raised  the 
still  figure  from  the  pavement  and  were  bearing  it 
toward  the  entrance,  the  organ  still  rolling  out  the 
wedding  march. 

I  saw  the  priest  who  had  officiated  rushing  to- 
ward the  front,  and  noticed  a  monk  flying  into  the 
entrance  to  the  stairway  leading  to  the  organ  loft; 
but  the  great  instrument  was  still  sounding  as  I 
hurried  out  of  the  rear  door. 


367 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

I  NEED  not  dwell  upon  my  own  condition  of  mind 
after  this  terrible  event.  It  was  what  might  have 
been  expected  under  the  circumstances.  But  men- 
tally benumbed  with  horror  as  I  was,  I  had  realized 
quickly  that  I  had  work  to  do  and  but  little  time  to 
lose.  I  concluded  that  my  own  arrest  must  follow 
in  due  course,  and  it  flashed  upon  me  that  I  must 
use  every  precious  moment  in  arranging  for  her 
protection  and  defence — and  also  my  own: — for  I 
happened  to  know  that  once  under  arrest,  a  person 
seriously  accused  is  not  permitted  to  consult  his 
attorney  in  private. 

I  walked  away  in  the  direction  of  a  cab-stand, 
breaking  into  a  headlong  run  as  soon  as  I  was  out 
of  sight  of  the  gaping  crowd,  and  inside  of  a  half 
hour  I  was  again  closeted  with  the  consular  attor- 
ney, Dr.  Sommer.  At  my  previous  visit  he  had 
taken  full  notes  of  the  case  and  my  additional  story 
did  not  require  much  time.  He  now  re-studied 
these  notes,  shaking  his  head  repeatedly. 

"Of  course  we  have  but  one  line  of  defence,  Herr 
Doktor,"  he  finally  remarked.  "Need  I  tell  you 
what  that  is?" 

"Temporary  insanity,  of  course.    Will  it  go?" 

"Impossible  to  guess  now.  There  is,  of  course, 
more  or  less  ground.  Her  past  life  and  troubles, 
alone  in  the  world  without  a  protector,  as  she  has 
been,  may  well  be  looked  upon  as  a  possible  antece- 
dent cause.  Then  her  failure  to  consider  the  inter- 
ests of  her  best  friend  (for  she  has  seemingly  been 
utterly  careless  of  involving  you,  Herr  Doktor,  and 
368 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

you  may  also  have  trouble)  shows  abnormal  fixity 
of  idea  along  the  line  she  has  acted  to  the  exclusion 
of  ideas  ordinarily  of  moment.  Also  the  spectacu- 
lar character  of  the  tragedy  committed  under  such 
utter  carlessness  of  consequences,  coupled  with  a 
complete  absence  of  any  plan  for  escape,  further  in- 
dicates irresponsibility.  Then  her  previous  aberrant 
moods,  her  sudden  disappearances,  the  elevated  con- 
dition of  mind  and  fixity  of  countenance  which  you 
describe,  can  also  be  used.  But,  we  must  have 
more  proof  or  color  of  proof  than  this.  Our  first 
task  must  be  to  inquire  thoroughly  into  her  private 
life  of  recent  years,  and  endeavor  to  show  that  this 
fixity  of  idea  is  not  a  thing  of  to-day  or  yesterday, 
but  that  it  has  been  under  development  for  a  long 
time.  Revenge  for  the  loss  of  property  is  not  al- 
ways the  manifestation  of  an  unsound  mind,  and  it 
will  be  especially  dangerous  if  they  can  show  color 
or  a  broken  love  affair  with  the  husband  of  the  de- 
ceased. 

In  short  we  must  ascertain  fully  the  facts  of 
her  private  life,  especially  between  the  time  she 
left  home  and  the  moment  of  the  tragedy.  We  will 
use  or  suppress  these  according  to  circumstances; 
but  we  must  know  them." 

"Doctor  Sommer,  if  the  commission  find  her  in- 
sane, will  she  be  tried?" 

"No.  An  insane  person  cannot  be  tried,  Herr 
Doktor.  She  will  be  remanded  to  an  insane  hos- 
pital, or  a  maison  de  sante." 

I  writhed  in  my  seat.  But  it  was,  of  course,  bet- 
ter than  a  prison. 

"Would  her  friends  be  allowed  to  take  charge  of 
her?" 

"It  may  be  possible  to  arrange  it,  but  it  would 
have  to  be  in  some  safe  institution." 
369 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  breathed  a  little  more  freely. 

"Then,  in  time,  if  pronounced  cured,  she  could 
be  released !" 

"Possibly — in  time." 

I  looked  him  squarely  in  the  eyes. 

"Doctor  Sommer,  is  money  of  any  use  in  this 
program  ?" 

"It  is  impossible  to  say  yet.  Have  I  carte 
blanche?" 

"Up  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  crowns. 
It  is  all  I  have  immediately  available.  If  necessary, 
I  can  sign  obligations  for  more  and  meet  them  later 
on." 

"I  think  less  will  do,  Doctor  Ransome.  More 
would,  I  think,  be  of  no  avail.  With  such  a  fund  to 
draw  upon  I  have  some  hope  that  the  matter  can  be 
managed.  Pick  up  your  courage,  Doctor!  Even  if 
we  fail  to  avoid  conviction  there  still  remains  the 
hope  of  the  Royal  pardon.  You  need  have  no  worry 
about  a  death  penalty,  for  the  Emperor  in  his  old 
age  is  commuting  all  such  sentences.  Money  is,  of 
course,  of  no  use  there,  but  will  help  us  in  getting 
the  hearing,  for  an  application  for  full  pardon  must 
go  through  several  hands  before  it  reaches  the 
Royal  ear.  What  is  her  religion?" 

"Roman  Catholic,  now." 

"That  will  help.  We  may  be  able  through  that 
fact  to  inspire  interest  for  your  client  in  some  in- 
fluential quarter." 

"Do  your  best,  Doctor  Sommer !" 

"Rest  assured  of  it !  Now  a  little  for  yourself, 
Herr  Doktor.  Don't  talk.  If  any  one  in  authority 
question  you,  refer  him  to  me." 

"I  am  expecting  arrest.  She  was  my  friend  and 
in  my  home.  And  I  went  with  her  to  the  church." 
370 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Oh,  they  will  arrest  you.  Is  there  any  one  to 
stand  for  you?  We  will  need  you  outside." 

"Go  to  Count  Weyer-Reinbach." 

"Very  well." 

I  left  him  with  some  encouragement,  but  my  ar- 
rest came  at  once.  When  I  arrived  at  my  apart- 
ments I  found  the  police  already  in  charge  of  my 
rooms  ransacking  everything  with  my  servant  stand- 
ing agape  over  them.  They  allowed  me  time  to  re- 
engage my  apartments,  and  then  I  was  placed  in  a 
carriage  and  not  long  afterward  I  was  installed  in 
less  commodious  and  comfortable  quarters.  Two 
days  later,  thanks  to  Count  Weyer's  signature,  I 
was  released  and  allowed  to  return  to  my  rooms, 
but  forbidden  to  go  outside  of  the  octroi  boundary 
lines  of  the  city. 

The  day  after  my  release  Cecilie  arrived  and  we 
drove  directly  from  the  station  to  attorney  Som- 
mer's  office. 

In  response  to  the  lawyer's  questions  Cecilie 
stated  that  she  had  first  met  Gisela  on  the  train  be- 
tween Laibach  and  Graz.  Cecilie  had  been  taking  a 
rest  in  Meran  and  had  come  to  Laibach  with  a  new- 
ly made  acquaintance  for  a  two  days'  visit.  When, 
after  this,  she  had  taken  the  train  for  Vienna,  she 
and  Gisela  were  alone  in  the  compartment  reserved 
for  ladies  traveling  alone.  This  was  when  Gisela 
first  came  to  Vienna. 

Owing  to  Gisela's  evident  inexperience  in  travel- 
ing, Cecilie  had  offered  to  help  her,  and  thus  they 
became  acquainted.  As  Gisela  had  no  especial  place 
to  which  to  go  to  in  Vienna,  Cecilie  had  recom- 
mended rooms  she  knew  to  be  free,  in  a  house  next 
door  to  the  one  in  which  she  would  reside  and  which 
she  had  occupied  up  to  leaving  for  her  sojourn 
in  Meran.  This  was  in  Anton  Frank  Street. 


T  H  e  Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

A  few  days  later  Gisela  had  moved  to  rooms  in  her 
own  house  and  from  that  time  on  they  were  to- 
gether until  Gisela  had  suddenly  fled  the  city. 

''Did  she  have  money?" 

"Only  a  little." 

"Who  paid  for  her  rooms?" 

Cecilie  hesitated. 

"We  must  know  all,  Fraulein,  in  order  to  meet 
every  attack  from  the  other  side,"  said  the  attor- 
ney. 

"Ingenieur  Overmann." 

"Ah-h!" 

"But  they  were  not  friends !" 

"Not  friends?    Why,  then,  did  he  support  her?" 

"He  was  trying  to  get  her  to  agree  to  marry  him. 
He  told  her  that  her  uncle  was  sending  him  the 
money  to  use  for  her,  but  told  her  that  her  uncle 
forbade  her  to  write  to  him.  Later  when  he  found 
that  she  would  not  marry  him,  he  told  her  that  it 
was  he  himself  who  was  furnishing  the  money  and 
that  he  would  no  longer  do  so  unless  she  would 
agree  to  marry  him.  Then  she  ordered  him  to  leave 
her  for  good.  At  first  she  merely  told  me  she  could 
no  longer  take  the  money,  but  later,  after  he  had 
tried  again  several  times  to  see  her,  she  told  me 
just  how  it  was,  and  all  that  had  gone  before." 

"Why  did  she  leave  her  home  to  begin  with?" 

"I  do  not  know,  Doctor  Sommer.  That  is  one  of 
two  things  she  never  offered  to  tell  me,  and  I  did 
not  ask." 

"What  was  the  other?" 

"Why  she  suddenly  left  Vienna  after  we  moved 
to  Doctor  Ransome's  house.  Her  only  reference  to 
this  was  in  one  of  her  letters  in  which  she  wrote 
that  she  had  to  leave  in  order  to  save  some  one." 

"Save  whom?" 

372 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  do  not  know.  She  just  wrote  'some  one.'  I 
have  always  suspected  that  this  had  something  to 
do  with  Doctor  Ransome.  He  was  pressing  her  to 
marry  him,  too,  and  I  know  there  was  some  reason 
why  she  could  not." 

"Did  she  love  Doctor  Ransome?" 

"With  all  her  heart,  poor  dear!  Many  a  night 
I  have  stayed  with  her  until  she  fairly  cried  herself 
to  sleep!" 

We  were  all  silent  at  this. 

"But  you  do  not  know  why  she  could  not  marry 
him?" 

"No,  Doctor  Sommer.  She  only  said  she  did  not 
dare.  Whatever  the  risk  was,  I  think  she  meant  at 
one  time,  to  take  it,  but  just  two  days  before  she 
went  away,  she  told  me  she  would  never  marry  at 
all." 

"It  is  a  great  pity  we  do  not  know  what  that 
reason  was,"  remarked  the  lawyer.  "I  fancy  it  was, 
at  least,  the  precipitating  cause  of  the  tragedy.  If 
I  be  permitted  to  question  her  privately,  I  will  try 
to  get  her  to  tell  me." 

He  rapidly  completed  his  notes  up  to  this  point. 

"But  after  she  left  Vienna  you  knew  where  she 
was?" 

"Yes,  after  a  few  days." 

"Where  was  she?" 

"In  the  convent  of  St.  Agatha." 

We  both  started  in  surprise. 

"St.  Agatha's,  here,  near  Vienna?" 

"Yes,  Doctor  Sommer.  When  she  had  reached 
Munich,  she  took  a  train  back  the  same  night.  You 
must  have  passed  her  on  the  way,  Doctor  Ransome. 
A  sister  was  waiting  when  she  arrived  at  the  sta- 
tion, and  they  went  together,  directly  to  the  con- 
vent." 

373 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Did  you  go  to  see  her  there  ?" 

"Twice." 

"Did  she  remain  there  until  she  last  returned  to 
Vienna?" 

"I  think  she  must  have.  I  have  a  letter  from  her 
which  was  posted  from  there  only  three  weeks  ago 
yesterday." 

"St.  Agatha's  convent!"  muttered  the  lawyer. 
"Her  Durchlaucht  the  Fiirstin  Carlovitz  is  a  special 
patroness  of  that  institution — Hum — Well  Frau- 
lein,  can  you  think  of  anything  to  add?  For  exam- 
ple, did  she  seem  to  be  herself  at  all  times?" 

"Oh,  no,  Doctor  Sommer!  I  have  known  her  to 
stand  for  a  half  hour  at  a  stretch  with  hands 
clenched,  staring  at  one  spot  on  the  floor.  I  have 
seen  her  stand  before  a  window  in  her  room,  in 
the  dark,  with  both  hands  raised  above  her  head 
as  if  she  were  making  a  vow.  I  have  seen  her  reach 
for  a  book  on  a  shelf,  and  then  seem  to  recollect 
something,  and  forget  to  lower  her  arm  and  stand 
that  way  for  minutes  at  a  time.  Much  of  the  time 
she  would  slowly  pace  the  floor  with  a  perfectly 
expressionless  face,  and  she  would  not  hear  when  I 
spoke  to  her.  Sometimes  she  would  be  so,  and  then 
suddenly  burst  out  singing;  singing  half  wildly  and 
with  breaks  and  catches  in  her  voice.  She  would 
sometimes  sing  the  same  way  in  her  sleep.  It  al- 
ways fairly  prostrated  me  to  hear  it  for  I  know 
what  singing  is,  and  why  singing  is  of  this  sort  or 
that,  and  I  always  know  that  this  singing  meant  a 
conflict  between  her  despondency  and  her  will  not 
to  show  it,  even  when  it  was  in  her  sleep.  For 
three  or  four  days  before  she  fled  away,  it  was  more 
so  than  usual.  It  was  dreadful  to  hear  that  in  the 
dead  of  night !" 

"The  singing?" 

374 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Yes,  Doctor." 

"Did  she  talk  in  her  sleep?" 

"Not  that  I  ever  noticed.  We  slept  in  adjoining 
rooms.  I  only  heard  singing." 

There  was  not  much  more,  for  Cecilie  had  told 
all  she  knew. 

She  went  to  a  hotel,  and  after  making  an  ap- 
pointment to  call  the  day  following,  I  went  to  my 
rooms  to  try  if  my  despondency,  self -accusations 
and  remorse  would  allow  me  to  have  a  little  peace 
in  sleep. 

There  were  other  consultations  of  course,  but 
they  were  routine  affairs  that  will  not  interest  the 
reader  of  this  narrative.  Nearly  a  week  passed  be- 
fore I  received  any  further  definite  news. 

Then,  in  response  to  a  note,  I  called  at  the  attor- 
ney's office.  He  informed  me  that  he  had  succeeded 
in  enlisting  the  full  sympathy  and  interest  of  the 
Fiirstin  Carlovitz,  the  more  as  Gisela  had  already 
once  been  under  the  protection  of  St.  Agatha's 
convent.  They  had  gone  together  to  the  convent 
and  talked  with  the  Superior.  Furthermore,  he 
told  me,  the  regular  committee  of  medical  experts 
attached  to  the  Court  would  examine  Gisela  in  a 
couple  of  days. 

I  never  knew  all  that  passed  at  this  sitting,  for 
Gisela,  myself  and  witnesses  were  separately  ex- 
amined in  private.  A  number  of  persons  were 
called,  including  two  of  the  nuns  at  the  convent, 
and  Gisela's  former  and  latter  landladies.  The  two 
well-known  alienists  who  had  charge  of  this  exami- 
nation were  the  only  ones  who  had  had  access  to 
Gisela  herself.  The  Ingenieur  testimony  was 
taken  at  his  bedside.  I  was  not  at  this  time  in- 
formed what  it  was,  but  learned  long  afterwards. 
I  will  here  remark  for  the  reader's  benefit,  that 
375 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

for  some  reason  or  another,  he  said  everything  he 
could  for  Gisela. 

Their  decision  was  not  made  public  immediately. 
I  was  given  to  understand  that  it  would  be  final. 

The  following  day  I  met  my  attorney  by  appoint- 
ment. He  had  two  curious  and  unexpected  ques- 
tions to  ask. 

"Doctor,  are  you  prepared  to  renounce  forever 
all  claims  to  Fraulein  Portulan's  estate?" 

"Why,  Doctor  Sommer!  What  claim  have  / 
upon  her  estate?  That  should  be  done  by  the  Sig- 
norina  herself!" 

"She  has  already  done  so.  But  certain  persons 
exact  that  you  also  sign  a  renouncement.  The  in- 
strument will  recite  her  present  estate,  and  will  not 
include  anything  she  may  acquire  later." 

"Done,  Doctor  Sommer." 

He  had  the  contract  ready.  A  notary  was  called 
in  and  I  signed  the  document.  Then  the  notary 
left. 

"Now,  Doctor  Ransome,  I  have  one  thing  further. 
Are  you  prepared  to  make  a  gift — a  heavy  one, — 
to  St.  Agatha's  convent?" 

"If  it  be  within  my  means." 

He  mentioned  the  sum.  It  was  a  "heavy"  gift, — 
truly.  I  thought  the  matter  over,  for  this  together 
with  the  other  drafts  that  had  been  made  upon  me 
and  would  still  be  made,  would  leave  me  a  poor 
man.  A  thought  of  my  friend  the  banker  at  Cat- 
taro  came  to  me,  but  I  felt  that  his  obligation  had 
not  comprehended  help  of  this  kind  and  to  this 
extent;  besides,  that  had  been  intended  for  me, 
only. 

I  admit  that  it  cost  a  struggle,  and  my  hesitation 
must  have  been  marked;  but  there  rose  up  before 
me  a  face  with  beautiful,  sad  Dalmatian  eyes,  and 
376 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  memory  that  she  "had  always  loved  me, — from 
the  beginning!  Always, — always!"  and,  as  I  now 
knew,  had  always  been  true  to  me — more  true  than 
I  had  been  to  her!  And  with  this  memory  came 
another ;  namely,  that  I  had  once  been  in  a  position 
to  protect  her,  and  had  I  been  as  true  to  her  as  she 
had  been  to  me — had  I  had  less  temper  and  more 
patience — I  could  have  prevented  her  ever  falling 
into  her  present  plight.  I  mechanically  reached  for 
a  pen. 

"Will  she  be  set  free,  Doctor  Sommer?" 

"Set  free!  A  homicidally  dangerous  insane 
woman  f  Not  in  Austria,  Doctor  Ransome!" 

"Not  free!" 

"It  will  be  this  way,  and  there  is  no  other  way, 
Herr  Doktor.  The  medical  committee  will  declare 
her  of  unsound  mind.  Then  the  convent  will  come 
forward,  state  that  she  wishes  to  take  the  veil,  and 
that  in  consideration  of  that  they  offer  to  assume 
the  care  of  her  for  the  rest  of  her  life." 

"To  take  the  veil!" 

"You  must  never  repeat  this  interview,  Doctor 
Ransome,  nor  ever  make  public  any  fact  concern- 
ing the  matter.  Of  course,  this  woman  may  be 
insane  for  aught  I  know.  Your  own  opinion  will 
be  better  than  mine  as  to  that.  But  the  proof  of 
insanity  is  by  no  means  conclusive.  The  commit- 
tee has  decided  to  give  her  the  benefit  of  the  doubt, 
but  they  are  by  no  means  satisfied.  However,  so 
far,  all  is  regular.  The  irregularity  consists  in  sub- 
stituting the  convent  for  a  maison  de  Sante  in  the 
case  of  a  person,  who  having  the  idee  fixe,  has  com- 
mitted homicide.  That  seldom  occurs  in  Austria, 
Herr  Doktor.  It  has  been  difficult  to  manage.  I 
have  had  to  enlist  the  countenance  of  some  import- 

377 


The  'Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

ant  people.  Do  you  not  realize  the  significance  of 
this  arrangement?" 

To  take  the  veil!  That  separated  us  forever! 
Had  I  been  in  her  place  I  would  rather  have  had 
a  prison  sentence  but  I  could  not  reason  that  way 
for  her.  She  could  still  enjoy  God's  bright  sun- 
light and  wholesome  air.  Her  life  would  turn  grey 
— but  better  that  than  black. 

"And  if  she  were  to  go  to  a  maison  de  Sante  in- 
stead?" 

"Ask  yourself,  Herr  Doktor!  Would  she  not 
become  mad  forever?" 

"Have  you  this  contract  ready,  too?"  I  asked, 
pretty  hoarsely,  I  think. 

He  silently  spread  the  document  before  me.  I 
looked  it  over,  but  my  eyes  were  only  faithful 
enough  to  gather  the  general  sense  of  it.  It  per- 
mitted payment  in  yearly  installments  for  ten 
years,  with  an  allowance  for  pre-payments.  I  signed 
the  contract  and  pushed  it  away. 

I  do  not  know  what  else  he  may  have  said.  I 
think  he  misjudged  me  a  little,  for  I  just  realized 
some  words  about  my  still  being  a  young  man, 
without  burdens,  with  plenty  of  time  to  make  an- 
other competence.  He  meant  to  be  kind  and  he 
really  had  done  well.  He  had  passed  his  case  along 
those  lines  reserved  for  the  very  rich  and  titled 
classes,  and  which  are  closed  to  ordinary  travel. 
But  he  did  not  "understand,"  either.  I  would  have 
been  satisfied  to  be  poor — with  Gisela.  But  to  be 
poor,  and  have  to  sign  herself  away  as  well,  took 
my  very  last  strength. 

My  own  trial  came  a  week  later.  As  the  princi- 
pal in  the  tragedy  had  been  declared  of  unsound 
mind,  it  was  a  short  affair.  The  jury  considered 
378 


The   ^Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

the  case  for  only  ten  minutes  and  I  was  acquitted, 
the  judge  dismissing  me  with  a  kind  speech. 

I  never  asked  the  banker  for  help.  The  most  I 
could  have  expected  from  him  would  have  been 
a  few  thousand  crowns,  which  would  not  especially 
have  altered  my  circumstances.  I  let  the  money  go 
and  kept  my  pride. 


379 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CECILIE  had  remained  in  Vienna  until  the  close 
of  my  own  trial.  A  couple  of  days  afterward  I 
accompanied  her  to  the  train,  and  as  she  bade  me 
goodbye,  she  said: 

"I  saw  her  yesterday  at  the  convent." 

"How  does  she  seem?" 

"She  is  resigned.  We  did  not  talk  of  you  much, 
but  she  sent  you  one  last  message.  It  was  that 
'she  loved  you  from  the  first  and  would  love  you 
always.  Her  vow  could  never  alter  that,'  she  said." 

Cecilie  kissed  me  on  both  cheeks. 

"Love  her — always — Edward!"  And  in  a  pas- 
sion of  tears  she  hastened  aboard  the  train.  I 
watched  her  waving  handkerchief  until  it  disap- 
peared from  sight. 

My  own  plans,  perforce,  had  altered.  In  my 
changed  circumstances  I  could  no  longer  carry  out 
my  elaborate  plans  for  further  improvement  in  my 
profession.  I  did  not  feel  that  I  could  go  to  Berlin 
at  all,  but  decided  to  remain  some  months  in  Vienna 
where  I  was  known  on  the  clinic  and  in  conse- 
quence had  certain  advantages.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  I  would  return  home  and  go  into  practice,  for 
my  dreams  of  that  private  hospital  had  gone  up 
in  smoke,  along  with  several  other  fine  plans. 

I  left  Vienna  for  six  weeks,  partly  to  get  away 

from  the  scene  of  my  troubles  and  partly  to  give 

gaping  blockheads  who  knew  me  by  sight  time  to 

get  interested  in  some  other  sensation  and  cease 

380 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

pointing  me  out  whenever  I  appeared  in  a  public 
place. 

The  first  day  of  my  return  to  my  rooms,  after 
this  absence,  was  especially  bitter,  and  I  never 
went  up  stairs  again.  As  time  passed,  by  burying 
myself  in  my  books,  I  was  able,  at  times,  to  think 
of  other  things. 

There  would,  however,  be  times  when  I  would  be 
unable  to  work.  On  these  days  I  would  take  a 
train  out  to  the  outlying  village  in  whose  neighbor- 
hood the  convent  was,  and  find  some  place  where 
I  could  watch  the  distant  buildings  from  outside 
the  extensive  walls.  Once  I  called  there  with  the 
wife  of  an  acquaintance.  The  Sister  Superior  re- 
ceived us  in  the  visitors'  room,  but  would  not  hear 
of  calling  Gisela.  She  informed  us  Gisela  was  well, 
and  said  that  she  was  a  model  member  of  the  sis- 
terhood. She  faithfully  promised  to  inform  me 
if  Gisela  should  have  any  serious  illness.  She  fur- 
thermore informed  me  that  Gisela  was  still  in  the 
novitiate  but  would  receive  the  veil  in  about  a  fort- 
night. Finally  she  forbade  me  unconditionally  to 
call,  ever  again. 

About  this  time  the  war  cloud  was  hanging  per- 
sistently over  Austria,  and  the  following  winter 
saw  the  beginning  of  that  heavy  mobilization  of  the 
army.  The  formal  annexation  of  Bosnia  and  the 
Herzegovina  had  been  announced.  The  war  cloud 
lowered  still  more,  and  now  almost  the  entire  Aus- 
trian army  became  massed  in  the  south  ready  to 
spring  upon  the  small  Servian  state,  and  the  Ger- 
man army  prepared  to  defend  Austria's  northern 
and  eastern  frontiers  against  Russia.  At  this  time 
only  the  active  union  of  two  other  great  powers 
was  necessary  to  plunge  Europe  into  a  conflict,  but 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

that  union  never  materialized.  Instead,  one  by  one, 
the  powers  acknowledged  the  annexation  to  be  a 
"fait  accompli,"  Pan-Servianism  in  the  Balkans  re- 
ceived its  check  for  the  time,  and  little  by  little  the 
war  cloud  began  to  lift  and  wing  heavily  away.  But 
there  was  an  aftermath  in  Austria.  This  was  the 
notorious  trial  at  Agram. 

Determined  to  strike  a  death-blow  to  the  Pan- 
Servian  propaganda,  the  government  had  been  for 
some  months  apprehending  all  the  supposed  leaders 
of  the  movement,  together  with  others  more  re- 
motely connected  with  it.  There  was  little  proof 
against  these  men,  and  some  of  them  were  shown, 
at  the  long  trial,  lasting  months,  to  have  been  even 
faithful  servants  of  the  Crown.  All  these  men  were 
finally  acquitted ;  but  for  a  year  or  more  their  fate 
and  that  of  many  others  with  them  hung  in  the 
balance.  This  trial  had  not  yet  taken  place  at  this 
date  of  my  narrative,  but  we  were  beginning  to 
read  about  it  in  those  trivial  niggling  articles  in 
which  the  Continental  press  alludes  to  such  things, 
and  which  make  one  so  think  of  a  man  walking 
through  a  field  of  stumps. 

The  months  dragged  by  and  once  more  the  time 
came  for  me  to  let  my  rooms  go,  and  to  pack  up 
my  belongings — to  go  home,  this  time.  Once  more 
my  rooms  were  in  disorder,  all  my  trunks  being 
ready  except  the  two  I  would  use  on  the  actual 
journey. 

I  was  not  intending  to  occupy  many  hours  with 
good-byes  this  time,  but  there  was  one  good-bye  I 
did  wish  to  say,  and  I  felt  I  could  not  leave  with- 
out it.  I  determined  to  see  Gisela  once  more  before 
I  went.  We  may  talk  all  we  please  about  any  one 
"being  dead  to  us,"  but  as  long  as  they  actually 
382 


The    Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

live,  and  we  know  it,  they  are  never  dead  to  us. 
That  can  only  be  when  we  know  they  are  beneath 
the  ground.  Gisela  was  not  dead  to  me,  as  the  Sis- 
ter Superior  had,  not  unkindly,  told  me  she  must 
be.  Nor  would  she  ever  be. 

I  knew  better  than  to  try  to  see  her  at  the  con- 
vent— better  than  to  show  myself  there  again.  Nor 
did  the  chance  of  seeing  her  any  other  place  seem 
bright.  So  my  resolve  was  based  merely  upon  the 
intense  desire,  and  upon  no  plan.  However,  the 
Fates  had  decreed  that  so  much,  at  least,  was  to  be 
granted  me. 

I  had  spent  several  idle  days  obsessed  by  this 
idea,  when  one  afternoon  I  was  hailed  from  a  pass- 
ing carriage.  It  stopped  and  Count  Weyer  alighted 
and  greeted  me  warmly.  He  had  been  away; — in 
Paris,  I  had  understood,  and  I  had  not  seen  him 
since  shortly  after  my  trial,  many  months  before. 

He  shook  my  hand  and  demanded  an  account  of 
myself. 

"What!  Going  back  home?  I  am  sorry  to  hear 
that,  Doctor.  You  must  call  and  see  us  before  you 
go.  The  Grafin  has  always  been  fond  of  you. 
Exactly  when  are  you  to  start?" 

I  explained  that  I  was  uncertain,  but  that  it 
would  have  to  be  soon. 

"Are  you  still  at  work?" 

"Oh,  no.    Entirely  idle,  Count." 

"Ah!  I  see  a  pretty  face  in  this,  Doctor!  A 
man  like  you  is  idle  for  no  other  reason.  Who  is 
this  one  ?" 

"The  same  face,  Count." 

He  grew  grave. 

"Still  hit,  my  friend?  That  is  bad.  It  will  be 
difficult  to  get  hold  of  her." 

"I  never  hope  to,  Count.    But  I  wish  I  might  see 

383 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

her  just  once  more.    That  is  not  much,  for  it  would 
be  the  end." 

"May-be !"  he  said,  drily.  "I  have  heard  of  such 
things  as  escaped  nuns.  Hum!  Let  me  think.  It 
would  be  a  jolly  lark,  and  I  wish  I  saw  a  way  to 
help  it  along.  Would  she  go?" 

"Oh,  no,  Count.  You  are  quite  off  the  mark,  I 
assure  you.  I  am  certain  she  would  not  go.  I 
could  only  hope  to  see  her — at  most,  to  exchange 
a  good-bye." 

"Rather  unsatisfactory.  I  ought  not  to  sympa- 
thize with  her !  The  removal  from  the  world  of  as 
fine  a  sport  as  the  Tomaso  was  a  great  shame !  And 
such  a  voice,  too !  But  never  mind.  I  don't  know 
much  about  convents,  and  nuns  have  never  ap- 
pealed to  me — hum — but  the  Grafin  knows  more. 
I'll  talk  the  matter  over  with  her.  Well,  Doctor, 
those  horses  are  fresh  and  the  coachman  is  cursing 
because  I  am  keeping  him  here.  Hum, — since  you 
are  idle,  come  along  with  me  now.  We  will  all  take 
dinner  together.  Come  along,  boy!  I'll  have  no 
excuses !" 

He  took  me  by  the  arm  and  dragged  me  to  the 
carriage.  In  truth  it  was  a  welcome  diversion,  for 
my  mood  had  become  indigo.  The  Grafin  was  a 
big,  cheery,  motherly  woman  who  loved  young  peo- 
ple better  than  those  of  her  own  age.  The  Count 
himself  was  a  gay  man  and  did  not  care  in  the 
least  who  knew  it.  The  Grafin  was  gay  also — 
but  legitimately.  She  loved  a  love  affair  of  the 
right  sort,  and  even  had  a  certain  sneaking  sym- 
pathy with  some  of  the  ones  of  the  wrong  sort,  as 
I  had  more  than  once  suspected.  It  was  easy  to 
see  how  she  had  the  best  regard  of  such  a  man  as 
the  Count;  she  never  annoyed  him,  but  kept  his 
respect. 

384 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

We  had  about  concluded  our  dinner  that  evening 
when  the  Count  broached  the  subject  of  our  pre- 
vious conversation. 

"Annetta,  the  mind  of  our  young  friend  is  not 
with  us,  but  in  St.  Agatha's.  Do  you  know  any- 
thing about  them  there  ?" 

"Why — not  very  much,  I  fear.  But  I  think  I 
could  break  in."  Then  more  seriously.  "Do  you 
still  love  her,  Edward?" 

The  Count  answered  for  me. 

"He  would  like  to  run  away  with  her.  He  pro- 
tests he  only  wants  to  say  'good-bye  forever,'  and 
so  on, — but — I  was  young  once !  I  know  just  what 
that  'good-bye  forever'  business  means !" 

"Yes.  He  said  'good-bye  forever'  to  me  six  times 
in  one  short  year.  But  she  has  taken  the  veil 
now,  Edward.  You  can  do  nothing  now,  boy  !  The 
Count  has  a  maximum  lack  of  respect  for  all  things 
for  which  he  should  have  reverence,  but  I  believe 
that  even  he  would  respect  the  veil!" 

"Oh,  I  have  always  let  nuns  alone.  No  shaved- 
heads  for  me !" 

"Shaved-heads!" 

"Well,  it  comes  to  the  same  thing.  Why!  Did 
you  not  know  that,  Doctor?" 

Her  beautiful  hair  removed ! 

"Bah !    It  can  grow  again !"  said  the  Grafin. 

The  Count  laughed,  loud  and  long. 
•   "Hear  that,  Doctor?    What  was  the  thought  be- 
hind that  speech?     She  is  already  planning  to  help 
you!     Rest  easy!     When  Annetta  starts  to  do  a 
thing,  it  is  done !" 

"Oh,  I  admit  I  love  young  people  and  their  af- 
fairs." 

"Naturally!"  I  remarked.  "Do  not  the  young 
flock  together?" 

385 


The  Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Oh,  I  am  no  longer  young.  I  never  stoop  to 
deceive  myself  on  that  score,  boy !" 

"Pshaw!" 

"Pshaw  indeed!"  said  the  Count.  "I  find  her 
young — and  no  prude,  either." 

"I  never  thought  the  Grafin  a  prude." 

"I  have  lived  with  the  Graf  fourteen  years,"  she 
said,  sweetly.  "Edward,  do  you  number  among 
your  acquaintances  any  woman  who  you  believe 
could  do  that  and  remain  a  prude?" 

"If  you  do,"  said  the  Count,  "send  her  here  and 
let  her  try !" 

"No,  it  cannot  be  done  here,"  she  answered  smil- 
ing. "It  will  have  to  be  in  the  hunting  lodge  in 
Krain,  or  in  some  other  of  the  Count's  pet  sardine- 
tins  for  two." 

He  roared  again.  She  continued,  now  seriously 
once  more. 

"But,  Edward,  you  must  not  try  to  run  away 
with  her.  It  simply  won't  do !" 

"Grafin,  she  would  not  go  with  me.  I  know  her 
well !  My  only  hope  would  be  to  see  her  once 
more  and  bid  her  good-bye." 

She  bent  earnest  eyes  upon  me,  and  the  kind 
eyes  began  to  blink.  Then  she  rose  from  the  table. 

"It  shall  be  done !  I  don't  see  my  way  just  this 
moment,  but  I  swear  I  shall  manage  it!" 

"It  is  settled,  Doctor,"  said  the  Count.  "You 
will  get  to  say  your  'good-bye  forever.' " 

I  had  less  faith  than  the  Count;  but  that  only 
showed  that,  by  reason  of  his  eighteen  or  nineteen 
years  of  superior  experience  perhaps,  he  knew 
women  better,  or,  at  least,  knew  the  Grafin  better. 


386 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  days  lengthened  into  a  week  and  the  week 
into  a  fortnight,  and  if  my  hopes  had  been  raised 
by  the  Grafin  they  had  settled  again  by  now.  Dur- 
ing this  time  I  neither  saw,  nor  heard  from,  either 
her  or  the  Count.  However,  coming  one  day  from 
the  city  I  dropped  into  the  Cafe  Central  and  met 
the  Count  coming  out. 

"Ah,  Doctor,  glad  to  see  you!  I  have  just  sent 
you  a  line.  The  Grafin  is  ill  and  thinks  you  ought 
to  come  and  see  her." 

"Ill !"  But  the  Count  looked  curiously  cheerful. 
He  even  winked. 

"The  note  will  appoint  Thursday  evening.  Com- 
fort her  all  you  can." 

And  he  walked  off  with  his  debonair  swagger, 
smiling,  and  breaking  out  into  a  whistle. 

The  Count  was  a  queer  fellow!  I  knew  that  he 
loved,  and  above  all  was  proud  of,  his  wife,  not- 
withstanding his  occasional  journeys  to  Coventry 
where  she  perforce  sometimes  sent  him.  Probably 
she  was  not  much  ill,  but  not  able  to  leave  the 
house,  and  wanted  to  explain  why  she  had  not  been 
able  as  yet  to  make  any  effort  in  my  behalf. 

On  Thursday  evening  I  was  shown  into  the 
Count's  drawing-room  and  kept  waiting  awhile. 
One  low-turned  gas  jet  was  burning  and  the  rich 
room  was  full  of  shadows  and  oppressive.  After 
ten  minutes  or  so  the  little  son  of  the  house,  aged 
four  years,  ran  in  and  tumbled  onto  my  knee.  Lit- 
tle Robert  and  I  had  been  sworn  friends  for  his 
years.  The  little  fellow  was  his  father's  son,  as  the 
387 


The   'Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Grafin  always  insisted,  much  to  the  Count's  laugh- 
ter and  delight.  He  was  what  the  Count  had  been 
at  his  age,  and,  one  day  would  be  what  the  Count 
was  now. 

"Were  oo  been?" 

"Oh,  around." 

"Round'  w'ere?" 

"Oh,  down  town,  and  home,  and  two  or  three 
other  places." 

"W'y  don'  oo  tome  he'e  of'ner? — I  dot  uh  new 
tite." 

"Is  that  so?    Can  you  fly  it?" 

"No  I  tant.  Johann  do  dat  fo'  me.  W'ere  oo 
doin'  t'night?" 

"Going  to  stay  here  for  awhile." 

"Wat  fo?" 

"I  want  to  see  your  mamma.    Is  she  better  ?" 

"Bettuh  ?" 

"Yes.    Is  she  still  sick?" 

"Mamma  no'  sit  'tall !" 

"She  has  been  though,  has  she  not?" 

"No !  W'y  oo  say  so  funny  t'ings,  Dottor  ?  Has 
oo  'ad  a  d'ink?" 

"No — I  am — sober.  But — I  thought  your  mam- 
ma was  sick.  Your  papa  told  me  so,  I  thought." 

"Dat  funny!     Say,  Dottor,  you  dot  a  dirl?" 

"No.  Robert,  I  can't  find  one." 

"Hy-ee !    Dey  plen'y  'roun' !    I  dot  free !" 

"Three !  That's  too  many,  Robert.  You  can  not 
manage  them." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  tan !  Papa  say  I  dood  as  he  is.  Dot- 
tor!  I  no'  b'lieve  oo  not  dot  a  dirl.  Oo  des  won' 
tell !" 

"I  used  to  have  one,  Robert,  but  I  have  lost  her." 

"Las'  huh  ?    Det  nudder  den !    Dey  'roun' !" 

Here  it  was  again; — the  same  old  recipe,  now 
388 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

from  the  mouth  of  a  child.     But  I  had  not  gradu- 
ated from  that  school. 

"Dottor,  oo  not  jolly  t'night.  Wot  ma'er  wif 
oo?" 

"You  are  jolly  enough  for  two,  little  man." 

"W'y  oo  ast  if  mamma  sit?"  • 

"I  thought  she  was,  Robert." 

"S'e  no'  sit.     S'e  dot  tom'p'y." 

"Oh !  Well,  we  will  have  to  wait  until  the  com- 
pany goes.  We  can  be  company  for  each  other." 

''S'e  no'  go.  S'e  pitty  'ady!  Awfu'  pity  'ady! 
S'e  ben  'ere  t'ree  fo'  days.  S'e  nun." 

In  my  blank  astonishment  I  started  half  up  and 
allowed  the  child  to  fall  headlong  onto  the  floor.  It 
was  a  moment  or  two  before  I  realized  that  a  pair 
of  very  indignant  and  reproachful  eyes  were  mea- 
suring me  with  great  earnestness. 

"W'y  oo  do  dat,  Dottor?  I  didn'  do  not'm!"— 
and  his  little  under  lip  began  to  tremble.  I  gath- 
ered him  in  my  arms,  but  do  not  remember  more 
that  the  little  fellow  said.  His  governess  soon  came 
'in  and  carried  him  off,  and  it  was  but  a  moment 
later  that  the  Graf  and  Grafin  both  appeared.  The 
Grafin  said: 

"I  have  just  seen  Robert's  governess.  I  fear  he 
has  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag." 

"He  has!    Heaven  bless  him!" 

"Well,  that  anticipates  my  surprise.  But  no  mat- 
ter. She  will  be  in  presently.  She  will  do  nothing 
wrong,  Edward.  Don't  try  to  persuade  her.  Re- 
member the  veil!" 

The  Count  leaned  over  and  whispered  in  my  ear. 

"Clear  out!— both  of  you!  /'//  take  the  re- 
sponsibility !" 

"Now  you  have  heard  some  deviltry,  Edward! 

389 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

It  is  always  that  when  the  Count  whispers.  He  is 
a  bad  counsellor.  But  I  am  not  afraid." 

Another  warm  handshake  and  more  kind  words 
from  both,  and  they  excused  themselves.  I  waited 
standing,  probably  five  minutes,  unable  either  to 
see  or  to  swallow.  There  came  a  faint  rustle  at 
the  farther  door.  I  stopped — came  again — and 
was  once  more  still.  Then  the  heavy  portieres 
parted  and  she  entered,  her  hands  clasped  and  her 
eyes  upon  the  floor.  She  stopped  about  ten  feet 
away  from  me  and  waited — thus.  I  could  not 
speak.  I  only  saw  her  dimly. 

I  am  not  quite  sure  how  it  came  about  nor  how 
long  a  time  elapsed  beforehand,  but  at  last  I  found 
myself  kneeling  at  her  feet  with  one  of  her  hands 
in  mine,  covering  it  with  kisses — yet  I  couldn't 
see  the  hand.  I  felt  the  other  trembling  about  my 
hair  and  looked  up  and  tried  to  see  her  in  the  dim 
light.  The  two  hands  came  to  my  face.  She  bent, 
kissed  me  on  the  forehead  and  laid  her  cheek  upon 
it.  My  own  arms  went  about  her  shoulders,  and 
for  a  moment  we  remained  so.  Then  she  broke 
away  and  tottered  into  a  chair  crying  and  sobbing, 
suppressed,  but  trembling  from  head  to  foot 

I  remained  half  sitting,  half  kneeling  and  buried 
my  head  in  my  arms  on  a  chair  seat.  After  a  mo- 
ment I  heard  a  step  and  looked  up. 

The  Grafin  had  come  in.  Her  own  face  was  wet 
and  she  was  sobbing.  She  knelt  by  me  and  took 
my  head  in  her  arms. 

"Take  her,  and  go ! — if  she  will !  I'll  no  longer 
stand  in  the  way.  I  leave  you,  for  good  or  ill ;  and 
God  bless  you  both !" 

I  heard  her  retreating  and  the  closing  of  the  door 
after  her. 

I  dragged  myself  to  Gisela  and  buried  my 
390 


"She    stopped   about   ten    feet  away." 
"(Accursed  Roccos.) 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

head  in  her  lap.     Trembling  hands  again  hovered 
about  my  head  and  face,  just  touching  me. 

"Oh,  Gisela !  Why !  Why !  Why !"  But  she  an- 
swered no  word — I  only  felt  her  tears  and  the  half 
shadowy  touch  of  her  hands,  now  here,  now  there, 
on  my  head  and  shoulders.  And  thus  we  were  for 
a  long  time. 

At  last  I  could  bear  it  no  longer.  I  sat  back  and 
seized  her  hands.  She  fell  back  in  the  chair,  pale 
and  weak.  At  last  I  could  see  her  eyes,  heavy  and 
wet,  but  the  same  beautiful  and  still  more  sad  Dal- 
matian eyes  that  had  haunted  me  since  that  St. 
John's  evening  when  I  had  first  seen  them. 

"Gisela,  they  have  both  told  me  to  take  you  and 
go.  Both  the  Graf  and  the  Grafin.  Will  you  go?" 

She  burst  out  crying,  this  time  without  restraint. 

"Oh — Ed-uard — I — can  not !     I — can — not !" 

The  paroxysm  passed  and  after  she  had  quieted 
a  little  I  made  another  appeal. 

"Gisela,  you  can  if  you  will.  Your  vow  is  only 
binding  as  far  as  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is 
concerned.  The  rest  of  the  world  does  not  recog- 
nize such  a  vow.  There  are  other  churches  into 
which  you  can  go — as  Christian  ones  as  the  Roman 
Church." 

She  covered  her  face  with  her  hands  and  trem- 
bled. ^ 

"Gisela,  you  were  not  in  your  right  mind  when 
you  took  the  vow.  There  are  plenty  of  Roman 
Catholics  themselves  who  would  not  consider  such 
a  vow  binding." 

No  answer.    Only  trembling. 

"We  can  go  to-night.     The  Grafin  has  left  us 
alone  and  expects  us  to  go.    Let  us  go,  then!    Be 
my  own  dear  wife!    We  can  be  out  of  Austria  be- 
fore morning.     We  will  go  to  far  away  America 
391 


The   rAccursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

and  begin  all  anew  and  in  peace  and  happiness. 
Come,  dear  one!  Go  with  me!  I  love  you  and 
you  love  me.  We  will  never  part  again.  Come! 
Come,  dear  one" 

I  arose,  bent  down  and  put  my  arms  about  her 
shoulders.  I  would  have  kissed  her.  In  sudden 
frantic  strength  she  held  my  head  away  and 
screamed  in  fright: 

"No !  Not  on  my  lips !  If  you  do,  I  am  lost ! — 
lost!  Oh,  Ed — Edu — Eduard,  1-loose  me,  if  you 
love  me !  If  you  do  not  wish  me  damned  forever — 

loose  me,  Edu Lo-ose  me !" 

She  sprang  from  the  chair  and  paced  the  room, 
now  her  arms  outstretched  with  upturned  face,  now 
with  them  hanging  by  her  sides,  and  her  head 
bowed.  Her  face  was  whiter  than  the  linen  head- 
dress which  surrounded  it  and  her  eyes  widely 
opened,  were  larger  than  ever. 

I  made  one  more  appeal  and  she  stood  still  to 
listen. 

"Gisela,  you  never  could  be  damned  for  loving 
and  marrying  me.  That  would  be  no  sin!  Nor 
could  you  be  damned  for  breaking  a  vow  made 
when  you  were  not  in  your  right  mind.  That  also 
is  no  sin !  You  risk  nothing  in  coming  to  me.  But 
darling,  you  do  not  think  of  me.  What  is  to  hap- 
pen to  me  if  I  have  to  live  without  you?  Have 
you  thought  of  that?  For  I  shall  always  love  you 
and  be  true  to  my  love.  What  does  that  mean  for 
me,  Gisela?" 

"Dear,  dear  Eduard,  it  is  only  something  that 
could  never  have  been !" 

"You  could  have  married  me !" 

"No,  Eduard!" 

"Tell  me  why !    I  have  a  right  to  know !" 

"It  is  better  that  you  never  know,  dear  Eduard." 
392 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  insist,  Gisela !    I  have  the  right !" 

"Then  I  will  tell  you.  But  you  must  swear  by 
your  love  for  me  that  you  will  never  act  on  this 
information,  and  above  all  will  never  raise  your 
hand  in  revenge  or  anger  against  any  human  being 
now  living  by  reason  of  anything  I  shall  tell  you." 

"Why  am  I  to  swear  that?" 

"Because  you  have  had  misery  and  trouble 
enough  on  my  account !  Because  I  shall  never 
allow  myself  to  place  you  where  I  have  been !  That 
is  why,  dear.  If  you  will  solemnly  swear  this  and 
make  me  believe  you  will  keep  your  oath,  I  will 
tell  you.  Otherwise  I  shall  remain  silent." 

I  had  no  idea  of  what  was  coming  and  I  hated 
to  give  the  word ;  for  once  given — to  her — it  would 
have  to  be  kept.  But  I  had  to  know ;  not  by  reason 
of  mere  curiosity,  but  in  order  to  see  a  way  to  com- 
bat her  position  now, — or  if  not  now,  at  some  later 
time. 

"Very  well,  Gisela,  I  swear  it." 

"And  by  your  love  for  me  will  you  keep  your 
word,  Eduard?" 

"Yes,  Gisela." 

"Very  well.  But  I  think  the  knowledge  will  not 
make  you  happier,  Eduard." 

"Go  on,  dear.  There  can't  be  many  more  dregs 
for  me  to  drink  now.  Let  me  hear  it." 

"I  shall  have  to  go  back  to  Cattaro  in  my  ex- 
planation, Eduard.  In  the  first  place,  except  your 
violinist  friend  and  my  poor  helpless  self,  you  did 
not  have  one  real  friend  in  Cattaro.  You  thought 
the  banker  was  your  friend — and  so  he  was  for  a 
time.  But  later  he  would  have  sacrificed  you  to 
save  his  schemes.  I  do  not  call  that  friendship." 

This  communication  did  surprise  me.  However, 
she  was  speaking  collectedly  and  firmly  now — and, 

393 


The   'Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

too,  must  know  the  inside  history  of  the  affair 
much  better  than  I.  I  was  conscious  of  a  certain 
pride  in  the  fact  that  I  had  not  gone  to  him  for 
help. 

"Go  on,  dear." 

"You  carried  two  dispatches,  one  to  him  from 
Montenegro,  and  one  reply  to  Cettinje." 

"Yes." 

"You  did  not  know  what  was  in  these  dispatches. 
Later,  Paulo  was  imprisoned.  So  were  a  number 
of  others  from  different  parts  down  there.  Think- 
ing Paulo  a  Servian  sympathizer,  two  others  be- 
came friendly  with  him.  From  them  he  learned 
what  the  dispatches  contained,  exactly  how  they 
were  transferred,  and  between  whom  they  went. 
The  first  dispatch  was  from  the  Pan-Servian  asso- 
ciation, containing  a  draft  for  a  large  sum  of  money 
and  a  statement  of  the  different  districts  and  names 
of  the  persons  among  whom  a  certain  shipload  of 
arms  and  ammunition  was  to  be  portioned  out.  The 
return  dispatch  contained  a  list  of  the  things  on 
this  ship,  told  where  it  was  lying,  how  it  was  to  be 
unloaded,  together  with  the  secret  signs  and  words 
by  which  the  people  on  the  ship  would  know  that 
they  were  delivering  the  cargo  to  the  persons  for 
whom  it  was  intended." 

"Be  seated,  Gisela,"  and  I  drew  up  a  chair. 
"Well?" 

"Eduard,  if  the  contents  of  these  dispatches  had 
ever  become  known  the  whole  Pan-Servian  asso- 
ciation would  have  been  exposed,  and  all  the  bank- 
er's wealth  would  not  have  been  enough  to  save 
him.  He  used  you  as  his  messenger  because  you 
were  exactly  suited  to  the  task.  You  were  a  for- 
eigner, honorable,  and  even  with  no  interest  in  the 
matter.  He  could  trust  you,  as  he  could  not  an- 

394 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

other  soul,  and  no  notice  would  have  been  taken 
of  you  if  it  had  not  been  for  one  person  who  over- 
heard you  and  him  in  his  private  office." 

"I  know — his  private  secretary." 

She  nodded  and  went  on. 

"Eduard,  if  it  had  ever  become  known  that  you 
carried  these  dispatches,  knowing  them  to  be  of 
political  character,  as  indeed  you  must  have  known, 
you  would  now  be  among  those  at  Agram,  and 
would  share  their  fate,  whatever  that  is  to  be,  not 
to  mention  one  or  two  years  of  imprisonment  be- 
forehand. Remember,  too,  that  you  unwittingly 
helped  the  banker  to  make  a  fool  of  the  General 
Commandant  at  Cattaro,  in  the  arrest  of  Paulo. 

And  there  was  another  and  even  more  serious 
thing — that  I  am  sure  you  have  never  heard  about, 
but  you  would  have  been  mixed  in  it.  You  know 
of  Signer  Sbutega's  private  secretary.  This  man 
was  a  second  cousin  of  Paulo.  About  two  months 
after  you  left  Cattaro,  he  was  found  drowned." 

"Found  drowned!" 

"Yes.  By  people  outside,  this  was  looked  upon 
as  a  mere  accidental  death ;  but  Paulo  was  told 
when  and  how  it  occurred.  And  the  reason  was 
that  he  had  carried  information  of  Signer  Sbu- 
tega's plans  to  my  uncle  and  others.  Paulo  also 
found  out  that  you,  Eduard,  were  the  person  who 
informed  Signer  Sbutega  of  this  man's  treachery. 
The  only  thing  they  could  never  learn  was  how  you 
yourself  became  informed  of  it. 

If  this  had  become  known  you  would  have  been 
implicated  in  a  political  crime  as  well,  and  the  two 
things  together  would  have  gone  not  lightly  with 
you,  Eduard,  for  as  you  will  see,  my  people  would 
have  made  the  utmost  use  they  could  of  it.  You 
see,  do  you  not,  that  your  going  with  a  false  letter 

395 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

and  deceiving  the  Commandant  and  later  receiving 
the  real  one  and  delivering  it  would  have  been 
proof  enough  that  you  were  not  acting  innocently, 
do  you  not,  Eduard?" 

"Yes,  they  could  have  made  me  trouble  enough, 
all  right." 

Indeed,  it  would  not  have  taken  the  tenth  part 
of  all  this  in  those  troubled  times  to  bring  about 
my  long  incarceration,  to  say  the  least.  There  was 
far  less  against  those  other  luckless  men,  as  any 
one  who  ever  read  the  absurd  evidence  put  forward 
by  the  government  knows  well  enough.  I  realized 
that  I  had  had  a  very  real  escape,  somehow. 

"Well,  if  Paulo  had  all  this  material  why  did  he 
not  act?" 

"He,  or  rather  they,  did,  Eduard.  Just  wait! 
They  did  not  denounce  you,  because  they  had  a 
more  useful  purpose  for  the  information.  Their 
first  step  was  to  do  away  with  the  banker's  protec- 
tion of  you.  They  feared  you  might  use  this  for 
me,  and  they  wished  also  to  do  away  with  it  so  they 
could  work  upon  me  through  you." 

I  began  to  see  the  light. 

"They  went  to  the  banker  and  gave  him  the 
choice  of  ceasing  to  protect  you  and  coming  over 
to  their  plans,  or  of  being  denounced  for  his  politi- 
cal plans  and  for  his  political  murder,  and  further 
the  false  imprisonment  of  Paulo.  It  seems  that  the 
Signer  was  not  frightened  for  himself,  but  feared 
the  exposure  of  his  plans.  Anyway  he  agreed." 

"To  cease  to  protect  you  or  me?" 

"Yes." 

"I  see.    Go  on,  Gisela." 

"It  seems  that  the  matter  rested  so  for  a  long 
time — as  long  as  I  was  willing  to  remain  at  home; 
for  you  must  know  that  I  knew  nothing  of  all  this, 
396 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Eduard,  until  a  long  time  later  on.  Well,  then, 
Eduard,  I  received  a  letter  from  Lubitza." 

"Well,  dear?" 

"I  hate  to  speak  of  it — because  you  have  never 
mentioned  the  matter,  Eduard." 

"Never  mind,  Gisela  dear.  Let  us  have  it  all 
now." 

"It  was  about  the  dinner  in  her  rooms  a  few  days 
after  your  friend's  debut." 

"Oh-h !    So  she  wrote  that  to  you !" 

"Yes,  Eduard." 

"Well!  All  that  she  could  say  truthfully  was 
that  I  got  very  drunk,  and  if  she  wrote  you  how  it 
really  was  you  would  see  that  it  was  at  least  an 
accident."  Then  I  related  the  whole  story,  includ- 
ing my  puzzle  over  the  letter  on  the  desk. 

"She  did  not  write  it  quite  so,  Eduard.  She 
added  much  to  that.  I  will  not — can  not — tell  you 
all  she  wrote.  I  am  sorry  I  have  not  the  letter  still, 
but  I  destroyed  all  such  things  when  I  took  the  veil. 
But  she  made  me  believe  that  you  had  quite  for- 
gotten me.  You  see,  dear,  I  was,  then,  still  believ- 
ing that  you  had  written  the  'Cara'  letter  to  her. 

Then  the  Ingenieur  came  to  Cattaro  and  made 
love  to  me,  trying  to  get  me  to  marry  him.  He  got 
me  out  of  the  house  to  meet  him  by  appointment 
just  once — by  writing  that  he  had  special  news  of 
you  to  tell  me.  In  this  communication  he  pre- 
tended he  did  not  know  that  Lubitza  had  written 
to  me,  and  told  me  that  dinner  party  story  all  over 
again." 

"My  friend  Harry  was  there  and  could  tell  you 
just  what  occurred,  Gisela." 

"Oh,  I  did  not  believe  quite  all  they  said,  but  I 
did  think  you  had  forgotten  me.  The  Ingenieur 
pretended  that  you  had  supplanted  him  in  Lubitza's 
397 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

favors  and  were  planning  with  her  for  the  estate. 
The  latter  I  did  not  believe — but  my  cousin  was  a 
pretty  woman  and  always  had  attracted  men,  and 
I  thought  you  might  have  gone  to  her.  You — never 
— wrote  me  a  line — nor — sent  me  a  message,  Ed- 
uard." 

Then  she  wept  a  little  again. 

"I  never  wrote  because  I  thought  you  had  been 
playing  with  me,  Gisela." 

"Yes,  but  I  only  knew  that  after  I  had  seen  you 
again.  At  this  meeting  with  the  Ingenieur,  Paulo 
and  uncle  had  followed  us — they  had  forced  my  let- 
ter away  from  Teresa — they  had  been  spying  upon 
our  two  or  three  chance  meetings  before — and 
when  I  returned  to  my  room  uncle  burst  in  upon 
me  and  accused  me  of  trying  to  take  the  Ingenieur 
away  from  my  cousin,  and  told  me  I  must  either 
renounce  him  or  leave  the  house.  Nothing  I  could 
say  would  put  this  absurd  idea  out  of  uncle's  head. 

Overmann  kept  following  and  meeting  me 
whenever  I  would  go  out.  I  always  told  him  what 
I  thought  of  him  but  he  did  not  seem  to  care.  Fi- 
nally Paulo  saw  us  talking  together  another  time 
and  again  told  uncle.  Then  uncle  ordered  me  to 
leave.  I  packed  my  trunks,  took  the  thousand 
crowns  uncle  gave  me  because  I  could  not  do  other- 
wise, and  left  on  the  boat.  Vienna  was  the  only 
place  I  could  think  of,  and  I  decided  to  come  to 
you  and  ask  you  to  help  me.  But  I  met  Cecilie  on 
the  train  and  went  to  her.  I  still  meant  to  find 
you,  Eduard,  but  the  Ingenieur  found  me  out  by 
tracing  us  up.  Cecilie  is  such  a  striking  girl  that 
the  guards  on  our  train  all  remembered  her,  and  me 
with  her. 

Then  he  still  tried  to  get  me  to  marry  him.  He 
kept  telling  me  you  had  forgotten  me,  and  was 
398 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

visiting  my  cousin.  He  gave  me  money  and  told  me 
uncle  was  sending  it,  but  would  not  hear  from 
me.  Then  when  I  persistently  refused  to  marry 
him  and  finally  began  to  refuse  to  see  him  when  I 
could,  he  finally  told  me  that  he,  and  not  uncle, 
was  furnishing  my  support,  and  unless  I 
would  agree  to  marry  him  he  would  do  so  no 
longer.  With  this  I  told  him  to  go  and  never  come 
again.  But  he  did  not  leave  at  once.  Instead  he 
sat  down  and  asked  me  if  I  were  planning  to  go  to 
you.  When  I  asked  him  what  business  of  his  my 
plans  were,  he  answered  that  he  would  show  me 
how  they  were  his  business.  After  saying  this 
he  explained  your  circumstances,  and  after  I  un- 
derstood them  he  dared  me  to  go  to  you.  He  sol- 
emnly assured  me  that  if  you  ever  took  part  in  my 
affairs  again  that  they  would  denounce  you  at  once, 
and  ruin  you.  Besides  that  he  taunted  me  further 
with  your  visiting  Lubitza  and  insisted  that  you 
had  taken  her  away  from  him,  and  were  in  love 
with  her.  So  I  never  sought  you  out,  Eduard. 

After  this  Cecilie  and  I  moved  to  Porzellan 
street,  where  we  were  when  you  finally  took  us 
away.  I  was  trying  to  get  away  from  him  and  yet 
remain  with  Cecilie.  Then  later  we  moved  to  your 
house.  I  consented  to  this  move  because  I  thought 
you  would  be  safe  in  receiving  me  if  you  did  not 
actually  take  any  part  in  the  affair. 

I  rejoiced  in  this  change,  for  I  was  sure,  now, 
that  you  still  loved  me,  whatever  your  relations 
with  my  cousin  might  have  been.  Cecilie  said  you 
loved  me,  and  I  supposed  we  might  be  married,  for 
while  I  knew  you  must  be  kept  from  the  danger 
of  trying  to  help  me,  yet  I  had  not  realized  then 
that  that  danger  still  threatened  you  in  case  of  our 
marriage  itself.  I  would  have  said  'yes'  that  even- 
399 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

ing  if  you  had  told  me  you  loved  me,  without  ask- 
ing me  to  account  for  my  previous  months.  But 
I  understood  your  suspicions  of  me,  Eduard,  and 
also  I  was  still  believing  there  had  been  something 
between  you  and  my  cousin,  and  my  pride  wouldn't 
let  me  speak  out,  even  if  I  had  dared  to  tell  you 
how  things  really  were.  And  it  was  only  the  sec- 
ond day  after  that  that  I  understood  that  I  would 
never  dare  marry  you  until  I  was  of  age,  and  this 
occurrence  made  me  resolve  to  sacrifice  marriage 
altogether  in  favor  of  making  my  cousin  pay  dearly 
for  her  victory.  It  was  not  that  I  did  not  love 
you,  Eduard.  But  I  was  possessed  of  this  idea. 
Sleeping  or  waking  I  could  never  get  away  from  it, 
and  I  came  to  realize  that  if  I  tamely  stood  by  and 
allowed  my  cousin  to  win  our  battle  of  a  lifetime, 
I  could  never  have  any  peace  for  hatred.  It  was 
impossible  for  me  to  do  otherwise  than  I  did.  My 
reason  and  my  heart  regret  my  act;  but  if  it  were 
to  do  over  again,  I  should  do  it  just  the  same,  be- 
cause I  would  have  to,  Eduard. 

Well,  the  second  day  after  our  conversation  that 
evening  when  we  left  the  opera,  I  was  leaving  the 
house  to  go  down  town  when  I  almost  collided  with 
my  uncle  and  the  Ingenieur  as  I  turned  the  corner 
of  Nussdorfer  street.  Uncle  said  he  wished  to 
speak  with  me.  I  had  your  cautions  in  mind  and 
at  first  would  not  go  with  them;  but  we  finally 
agreed  to  go  down  town  in  the  tram  to  the  parlors 
of  the  Imperial  Hotel  until  I  could  hear  what  they 
had  to  say. 

When  we  got  there,  uncle  explained  the  situa- 
tion you  were  in.  The  Ingenieur  had  partly  ex- 
plained it  before,  but  they  made  it  all  very  clear  this 
time.  They  they  gave  me  the  choice.  It  was  to 
resign  absolutely  my  estate  and  not  marry  until 
400 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

my  majority,  or  have  them  denounce  you  to  the 
Austrian  Government.  -  Furthermore,  they  agreed 
that  if  I  would  sign  their  paper  they  would  later 
give  me  one-fourth  of  my  estate,  and  after  June 
seventeenth  I  might  marry  whom  I  pleased." 

"Oh !  That  explains  why  I  was  asked  to  re- 
nounce all  claim  to  your  estate  while  I  was  trying 
to  set  you  free !" 

"Did  you  do  it?" 

"Oh,  yes." 

"Well,  Eduard,  I  pretended  to  accept  this  and 
signed  their  paper.  It  was  a  statement  admitting 
that  I  had  not  lived  according  to  the  will.  Remem- 
ber your  promise,  Eduard!" 

"Oh !  I'll  not  forget  it,  dear  child,"  I  answered, 
wearily. 

"But  I  laid  my  own  plans.  I  determined  to  do 
what  I  had  often  thought  of — to  give  my  cousin 
the  last  remaining  thing  of  any  value  which  would 
be  left  of  my  patrimony, — and  to  give  it  to  her  as 
a  wedding  present.  I  never  planned  to  strike  the 
Ingenieur.  I  only  did  that  because  he  seized  me  and 
the  contact  of  his  hands  was  so  hateful  that  I  did  it 
in  self-defence. 

Of  course,  I  knew  this  step  meant  resigning  you 
forever — but  I  simply  did  not  allow  myself  to  think 
of  that.  I  kept  only  in  mind  the  thing  I  had  to  do. 
You  see,  Eduard,  I  had  only  loved  you  three  years, 
and  had  never  actually  seen  much  of  you.  My  love 
for  you  was  rather  an  ideal  and  not  so  directly  con- 
nected with  you  in  person.  But  I  had  hated  my 
cousin  for  my  lifetime,  had  been  brought  up  with 
her,  and  that  hatred  was  actual  and  personal. 

I  decided  to  leave  Vienna,   at  first  because   I 
feared,  being  with  you.  that  I  might  break  silence 
as  to  uncle's  plan — and  T  knew  you  would  fight  it 
401 


The  'A  c  c  urs'ed   R  o  c  c  o  y 

and  thereby  get  into  their  net.  Later,  after  our 
very  last  interview,  I  determined  to  go  all  the  more, 
because  I  feared  you  would  break  down  my  re- 
solve. 

I  went  to  St.  Agatha's  convent  because  it  bore 
my  mother's  name.  I  arranged  to  go  there  with 
the  understanding  that  after  a  little  time  I  might 
enter  the  novitiate.  Then  I  left  for  Munich,  but 
came  back  the  following  night  and  went  directly  to 
the  convent  with  a  sister.  When  the  time  came  to 
come  to  Vienna  again  I  asked  leave  to  go  into  the 
village.  A  sister  went  with  me,  but  I  easily  eluded 
her,  bought  a  hat,  blouse  and  skirt,  telegraphed  you 
and  came  to  Vienna.  I  did  not  wish  to  go  to  a 
hotel  because  I  feared  the  convent  would  inquire 
for  me.  I  told  you  my  trunks  had  not  come.  I 
had  not  brought  any.  I  had  two  stored  at  a  spedi- 
teur's.  That  is  why  I  could  not  let  you  get  them 
for  me.  Now  you  know  all,  Eduard." 

I  thought  over  this  narrative  for  a  long  time. 
With  all  this  material  in  their  hands,  I  wondered 
that  the  Signor  and  the  Ingenieur  had  allowed  my 
own  trial  to  go  so  lightly.  After  some  thought, 
however,  I  realized,  so  far  as  my  trial  was  con- 
cerned, that  all  this  was  not  only  immaterial,  but 
dangerous  for  them  and  their  ill-gotten  interests 
as  well. 

Gisela  had  not  told  her  story  as  straightly  and 
unbrokenly  as  I  have  given  it.  It  had  been  punc- 
tuated by  many  a  sob  and  moan  and  breaking  into 
tears. 

There  was  plenty  of  murder  in  my  own  heart  as 
I  listened  to  the  tale  of  bullying  intrigue  and 
falsehood,  and  the  time  came  when  I  said  to  my- 
self that  she  had  served  her  cousin  rightly;  for 
now,  knowing  her  better,  I  felt  that  Lubitza  had 
402 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

been  the  moving  spirit  of  it  all.  As  for  the  Inge- 
nieur  and  her  uncle, — my  hands  were  tied.  More 
was  the  pity! 

Well,  I  would  forget  it ; — forget  all  the  past,  and 
turn  to  the  present. 

"Eduard,  never  forget  your  oath!  I  would  not 
have  you  where  I  am.  Never  forget !" 

"I  will  faithfully  keep  my  word,  dear.  I  am 
leaving  Vienna  forever  in  a  couple  of  days,  and 
I'll  never  see  them  again." 

Her  head  bent  to  her  knees. 

"Going — away — forever !" 

It  was  only  whispered,  and  hoarsely ;  but  I  heard 
it.  I  crossed  over  to  her,  kneeled  down  and  took 
her  hands  once  more. 

"Gisela,  once  more,  go  with  me !  We  will  never 
have  another  chance.  Now  we  are  free  to  go. 
We'll  never  see  one  another  again  if  you  don't?" 

"O  Eduard — Eduard,  don't — don't — don't  ask  me 
again !  I  can  not — I — I  can  not  do  it !  I  can — not 
— ca — an — ca — a" 

She  broke  into  a  torrent  of  crying  and  wailing.  I 
held  her  hands  and  her  head  rested  on  mine.  She 
moaned  and  wept  and  kept  saying,  "I  can — not — 
can  not — can — not." 

Once  more,  little  by  little,  the  weeping  ceased. 
Then  the  sobs  became  farther  and  farther  apart. 
Finally  she  was  still,  her  cheek  still  resting  upon 
my  head. 

"Gisela,  listen.  It  is  only  your  will  that  is  in  the 
way  of  our  happiness — your  will  and  pride.  Is  that 
worth  while,  dear?" 

"No,  that — is  not — all,  Eduard.     I  have  received 
— absolution  for  my  sin.    If  I  break — my  vow,  that 
will  be  cancelled  and  I  will  be  excommunicated  and 
403 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

cursed, — be  denied  a  last  sacrament,  and  never  be 
buried  in  holy  ground!" 

What  could  I  answer  to  that?  It  did  not  appeal 
at  all  to  me,  but  it  did  to  her.  It  would  never  dis- 
turb me,  if  I  were  to  be  cursed  by  any  number  of 
priests;  but  for  her  to  go  through  life  with  such  a 
thing  hanging  over  her  head — dear,  high-strung, 
nervous  being  that  she  was — that  was  another 
thing!  Her  beliefs  were  as  settled  as  mine  were! 
How  could  she  ever  be  happy,  even  for  an  hour? 

J  was  brought  to  silence.  My  arguments  were 
at  an  end,  and  I  saw  the  end  of  my  hopes.  Once 
more  came  the  leaden  feeling  in  the  breast  and 
throat  which  had  descended  upon  me  when  the 
attorney  had  informed  me  that  she  must  take  the 
veil, — this  time  multiplied  tenfold. 

It  could  do  neither  of  us  any  good  to  prolong  the 
parting  further.  Moreover  I  realized  that  Gisela 
could  not  endure  much  more.  Her  head  was  rest- 
ing heavily  upon  mine  and  her  elbows  kept  slipping 
weakly  off  of  trembling  knees  as  she  was  trying 
to  support  her  body. 

I  took  her  face  between  my  hands  and  gazed  into 
the  lovely  eyes  long  and  with  an  aching  heart. 
Then  I  rose,  bent  and  kissed  each  dear  hand  long 
and  hard,  and  moved  away  a  pace  or  two.  She 
also  unsteadily  rose  to  her  feet. 

"Is  there  no  hope,  then,  Gisela?  Perhaps  some 
time  in  the  future" 

She  raised  her  head,  holding  her  arms  out  ap- 
pealingly  before  her. 

"My  vow — could  only — be  loosed  by  the  Holy 
Father  himself  !  There  is — no  hope — no — hope." 

She  dropped  her  hands  and  her  arms  hung  by 
her  side.  She  raised  her  lovely  eyes  and  looked 
404 


The  rAccursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

long  into  mine.  Her  face  grew  white.  She  whis- 
pered: "Good — good — b-bye,  Eduard." 

"Good-bye — my  loved  one !" 

Her  head  bent  and  she  turned.  Slowly  she  paced 
the  length  of  the  long  room.  At  the  door  she  slow- 
ly turned  and  looked  at  me  once  more,  and  now 
the  beautiful  eyes  recalled  that  St.  John's  evening 
when  I  had  seen  them  first,  by  the  light  of  the  fire 
on  the  beach.  For  one  passing  instant  I  fain  would 
dream  that  that  night  was  only  now  passing  by  and 
that  I  should  see  her  again  in  a  cathedral,  and 
that  past  events  had  been  but  an  ugly  phantasy. 
But  the  instant  was  short. 

She  turned  from  me  again  and  passed  through 
the  door.  T  watched  the  white  headdress  go  slowly 
out  of  sight  in  the  gloom. 

The  low-turned  gas-jet  flickered.  I  heard  a  dis- 
tant door  close,  and  was  alone.  Still  I  watched  the 
door  by  which  she  had  left  the  room.  Gradually 
the  heavy  portieres  ceased  to  swing.  All  was  very 
still.  I  heard  the  Rath-house  clock  give  one  stroke. 
Then  that  was  all. 


40S 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ONE  very  gusty  and  rainy  evening,  a  few  days 
after  the  events  of  the  preceding  chapter,  found  me 
in  my  rooms  in  the  course  of  my  last  packing  pre- 
paratory to  leaving  Vienna  the  following  day.  I 
had  had  my  last  two  trunks  brought  down  from 
the  store-room.  One  had  already  been  packed  and 
closed,  and  I  was  standing  over  the  other,  dreading 
to  open  it. 

This  last  trunk  contained  the  old  violin,  in  its 
case. 

I  was  dreading  to  open  it  partly  because  of  the 
bitter  regret  which  the  actual  sight  of  the  instru- 
ment was  sure  to  bring,  and  partly  because  of  a 
resolve  I  had  made  concerning  it. 

I  had  promised  her  that  it  should  never  pass 
from  my  hands  into  the  ownership  of  another,  ex- 
cept herself,  and  yet  it  was  impossible  for  me  to 
keep  it.  I  had  never  seen  the  instrument  itself 
since  I  had  packed  it  in  Cattaro  and  shipped  it  to 
Vienna,  and  it  was  still  in  the  wrappings  in  which 
it  had  traveled.  But  I  would  have  to  see  it  now, 
as  to  carry  out  my  resolve  the  whole  would  have 
to  be  reduced  to  pieces  small  enough  to  be  crowded 
through  the  small  door  of  the  tall  porcelain  stove 
in  my  room. 

I  remembered  Harry's  request,  but  good  friend 
as  he  was,  I  could  not  give  it  to  him. 

I  might  have  stored  it  in  some  dim  attic,  but  I 

would  always  know  it  was  there,  and  remember  it, 

and  other  things  with  it.     That  was  what  I  had 

done  the  last  three  years, — and  I  had  always  known 

406 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

it  was  there, — and  remembered.  But  in  the  past 
the  memory  had  been  rather  a  comfort;  for  then 
the  door  had  not  finally  closed  upon  her  as  it  now 
had.  Now,  my  reason  kept  telling  me  again  and 
again  that  my  only  salvation  from  some  sort  of  a 
mental  derangement,  greater  or  less,  lay  in  using 
every  means  in  my  power,  not  to  forget  her,  for 
the  thought  of  that  was  folly,  but  to  bring  once 
more  between  us  that  kind  veil  which  had  once 
parted  us,  and  which  had  served  to  keep  out  the 
sharper  arrows,  leaving  only  a  certain  half-sad 
sweetness  to  filter  through.  As  long  as  this  old 
relic  existed  that  could  never  now  occur.  I  would 
bury  it  in  fire ;  that  great  purifier  and  obliterator  of 
all  things,  and  as  it  would  burn  I  would  hope  that, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  sharpest  of  my  memories 
would  follow  it. 

I  stood  over  the  dusty  trunk  with  the  key  in  my 
hand.  Time  and  again  my  arms  went  out  to  open 
it,  and  time  and  again  refused  to  obey  my  will. 
The  night  was  little  suited  to  such  a  memory  as  it 
would  bring  up; — the  rain  was  falling  unsteadily, 
and  now  and  then  a  heavy  gust  of  wind  and  rain 
would  beat  against  the  windows,  making  them  and 
even  the  very  doors  creak  and  rattle.  The  sight 
of  the  violin  would  recall  one  of  the  loveliest  hours 
I  had  had  with  her,  when  I  was  full  of  hope,  an- 
ticipating only  happiness,  and  little  dreaming  of 
what  the  future  was  to  bring. 

Finally  I  dropped  the  key  and  began  to  pace  the 
floor,  my  memories  gradually  getting  the  better  of 
me. 

She,  too,  had  given  up  her  all  for  me — except 

one  thing.    Had  she  not  been  obsessed  by  the  fixed 

idea  of  visiting  retribution   upon   her  cousin,   we 

would    be    together    now,    and    would    have    had 

407 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

enough  to  make  us  happy.  It  never  occurred  to  me 
to  blame  her  for  giving  me  up  for  revenge.  She 
could  not  help  it — she  was  not  accountable  for  the 
choice.  As  the  lawyer  had  more  than  half  hinted, 
she  was  not  insane.  But  she  had  lived  in  that  un- 
certain border-land  sometimes  occupied  by  those  of 
sensitive  disposition  who  become  the  victim  of  the 
fixed  idea — a  state  of  mind  which  often  can  be 
corrected  and  even  turned  into  useful  channels 
when  loving  and  intelligent  friends  and  well-wish- 
ers do  their  duty.  This  advantage  she  had  never 
had — on  the  contrary,  she  had  been  driven  along 
the  predestined  lines  by  those  who  surrounded  her. 

Most  useful  people  in  the  world  have  been  use- 
ful because  they  have  had  a  fixed  idea.  When  this 
takes  a  normal  line  as  the  direction  of  science,  in- 
vention, exploration,  objective  religion  and  other 
ways  that  lie  in  the  sunlight,  it  produces  our  valu- 
able men  and  women.  But  when  it  follows  the 
dark  paths  of  self-gratification,  egoism,  avarice, 
revenge  and  subjective  theology,  it  leads  surely  into 
the  dark  borderland,  and  often  farther  still.  While 
the  host  of  the  fixed  idea  is  still  young,  it  lies 
largely  within  the  power  of  parents  and  guard- 
ians to  determine  its  continuance  or  suppression. 
So,  very  often,  the  blame  for  the  consequences  of 
an  ill-directed  fixed  idea  lies  at  the  door  of  such 
parents  or  guardians,  and  the  Raven  must  ever  sit 
upon  their  heads. 

So  had  it  been  with  Gisela.  It  might  not  have 
been  easy  for  some  men  to  have  forgiven  her  choice 
of  revenge  against  the  choice  of  her  love.  It  would 
even  have  helped  some  men  to  forget  her.  They 
would  have  reasoned ;  she  chose  her  revenge  against 
her  love  for  me ;  ergo,  she  did  not  love  me.  There- 
408 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

fore  she  was  not  worth  while,  and  I  shall  forget 
her.  And  they  would. 

But  I  understood  her  better.  I  knew  that  she 
had  loved  me  more  than  she  had  hated  her  cousin, 
but  that  the  latter  passion,  through  long  habit  and 
long  residence  in  her,  had  absorbed  and  dominated 
her  attention  the  more. 

But  all  the  reasoning  in  the  world  could  not 
change  a  single  past  fact,  and  I  paced  the  floor  in 
vain.  Finally  I  threw  myself  into  a  chair,  buried 
my  face  in  my  arms,  and  for  the  first  time  gave 
way  to  what  is  supposed  to  be  unmanliness.  It 
proved  to  be  the  opening  of  the  safety-valve,  and 
after  a  time  I  rose  from  the  chair  prepared  to  carry 
out  my  intention. 

I  went  to  the  trunk,  opened  it,  and  drew  out  the 
package, — the  only  thing  the  trunk  contained, — and 
brought  it  to  the  table.  A  knife  quickly  disposed  of 
the  cords  and  wrapping,  and  I  saw  the  beautifully 
carved  case  once  more. 

As  the  lock  of  the  case  had  disappeared  I  had 
bound  it  about  with  a  long  length  of  wide  silk  rib- 
bon, in  order  not  to  injure  the  carved  work.  This 
I  cut  away.  Then  I  opened  the  case  and  lifted  out 
the  ancient  instrument.  Three  of  the  strings  Harry 
had  put  on  were  still  in  place,  so  it  had  nearly  its 
normal  dressed-up  appearance.  I  turned  it  over 
again  and  again.  Once  more  its  lovely  lines  caused 
all  else  for  the  moment  to  step  into  the  background. 
Again  I  worshipped  the  perfection  of  the  inlaid 
lines,  the  beautiful  cut  of  the  /-holes,  the  elegant 
scroll,  the  exquisite  arching  of  the  chest  and  back, 
the  richness  of  the  age-toned  old  gold  varnish, 
lovely  figure  in  the  wood  of  the  back,  and  the  ever 
varying  play  of  the  lights  and  shadows  about  the 
409 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

curves  of  the  instrument  as  it  was  turned  about  in 
the  light. 

Let  him,  who  may  be  ever  so  good  a  mediocre 
builder,  try  to  copy  the  master's  work,  and  what  is 
the  result?  He  may  measure  and  compare,  minute 
by  minute,  hour  by  hour,  take  months  where  the 
master  took  only  days,  and  labor  with  love;  but 
although  the  finished  copy  may  be  a  good  one, 
nevertheless  there  remains  ever  something  which 
raises  the  handiwork  of  the  master  above  the  copy. 
Perhaps  you  can  not  just  point  out  the  difference — 
but  it  is  there,  and  you  know  the  work  of  the 
master ;  and  you  are  not  mistaken. 

Surely  this  exquisite  work  was  made  for  better 
things  than  to  lose  its  lovely  voice  and  its  very 
name,  and  one  day  to  be  burnt  to  ashes  by  some 
man  whimpering  under  the  lash  of  Fate.  It  was 
made  to  command  a  great  orchestra ;  to  thrill  under 
the  flying  fingers  of  the  virtuoso;  to  sing  out  over 
the  heads  of  a  worshipping  audience  ;  to  charm  the 
ear  of  the  enthusiast,  and  one  day  perhaps,  after 
having  helped  some  human  being  to  greatness,  to 
have  a  well  earned  rest  under  glass  in  some  collec- 
tion or  in  some  city  building.  For  that  its  maker 
had  fashioned  it ! 

But  so  had  its  previous  owner  been  fashioned  for 
better  things — and  by  a  greater  Master  still.  It 
should  share  her  fate,  and  be  forgotten. 

I  drew  up  a  chair  so  that  its  back  would  be  with- 
in correct  striking  distance,  and  picked  up  the  vio- 
lin by  the  head  and  scroll.  Even  in  this  moment 
I  could  not  help  but  handle  the  beautiful  thing  with 
a  certain  care.  I  faced  the  chair,  measured  the  dis- 
tance so  that  the  middle  of  the  violin  back  should 
strike  the  top,  and  raised  the  instrument  high'  over 
my  head. 

410 


"Surely  this  exqu'site  work  was  made  for  better  things 
than  .  .  .  one  day  to  be  burnt  to  ashes  by  some 
man  whimpering  under  the  lash  of  Fate." 

(Accursed  Roccos.) 


The   "Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

One  who  has  ever  tried  to  carry  out  some  small 
surgical  procedure  upon  himself  knows  how,  with 
all  the  will  in  the  world,  something  will  hold 
back  the  hand  at  the  crucial  instant.  The  motor 
area  of  the  brain,  ordinarily  subject  to  the  will,  re- 
ceives a  superior  stimulus  from  the  sensory  tracts, 
and  becomes  disobedient.  It  was  so  at  this  moment. 
With  all  the  determination  in  the  world,  I  could 
not  strike.  A  second  special  willing  of  the  inten- 
tion only  caused  my  thumb  to  slip  off  of  the  A 
string,  and  the  violin  sang  out  in  its  pitiful  tired 
unresonant  voice,  as  if  in  a  cry  for  help. 

Once  more  with  full  determination,  I  held  the 
violin  further  back;  but  as  I  was  about  to  bring  it 
forward  for  the  blow,  a  specially  heavy  gust  of 
wind  and  rain  shook  the  windows,  and  it  seemed 
as  though  a  cold  hand  grasped  my  wrist  and  held 
back  the  stroke.  I  glanced  nervously  behind  me 
and  laughed  a  little. 

Well,  after  all,  there  were  other  ways  to  reduce 
a  violin  to  kindling  wood  than  by  striking  it  across 
a  chair  back. 

At  this  moment  I  remembered  a  dispute  which 
had  once  occurred  between  me  and  Harry.  I  had 
maintained  that  the  base-bar  of  a  violin  must  run 
from  end  to  end  of  the  chest,  while  he  had  insisted 
that  it  stopped  a  little  short  of  both  the  head  and 
foot.  I  decided  I  would  see  which  of  us  had  been 
right. 

I  let  down  the  strings,  and  removed  them  and 
the  tailpiece  together.  Then  I  took  up  the  knife, 
inserted  it  under  the  edge  of  the  chest  at  the  foot, 
and  "walked"  the  knife  along  the  violin  sides. 
After  a  moment  the  entire  chest  came  loose,  and 
I  lifted  it  off,  and  turned  it  over  to  examine  it, 
placing  the  rest  of  the  instrument  upon  the  table. 
411 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Yes,  Harry  had  been  right.  Moreover,  at  the 
head  end  of  the  chest  I  noticed  an  extensive  black- 
ened place.  Thinking  it  probably  decayed  I  tried  it 
with  my  thumb  nail,  but  found  it  sound.  With  the 
thought  that  it  had  probably  once  been  water  or 
oil  soaked,  and  that  that  would  account  for  the 
loss  of  tone,  I  tossed  the  chest  upon  the  table,  and 
turned  to  the  remainder  of  the  instrument,  follow- 
ing the  chest  with  my  eyes,  as  I  picked  up  the  other 
portion. 

When  my  eyes  finally  turned  to  the  remainder 
of  the  violin,  I  suddenly  dropped  it  and  started 
back  with  an  exclamation  of  genuine  fright.  There 
in  the  left  shoulder  of  the  violin  was  what  I  first 
took  to  be  some  small  animal — a  rat,  or  gigantic 
spider  in  a  nest. 

Realizing  in  a  moment,  however,  that  no  such 
thing  could  have  got  inside  of  a  violin,  I  came  back 
to  the  table  and  examined  it  closer,  at  first  with 
little  light,  as  it,  whatever  it  was,  was  buried  in  the 
accumulated  dust  and  cobwebs  of  very  many  years. 

I  cleared  away  this  accumulation  from  the  top 
by  scraping  it  with  the  knife,  and  then  saw  that  it 
was  a  packet — a  little  packet  done  up  in  parchment, 
sealed  throughout  with  ancient  wax,  and  securely 
fastened  by  every  edge  to  the  back  and  sides  of  the 
violin  by  means  of  an  excess  of  the  wax.  In  grow- 
ing excitement  and  with  a  trembling  hand  which 
threatened  to  do  damage,  I  pried  out  the  package. 
Then  I  seated  myself  and  hastily  broke  the  seals. 

The  opening  revealed  three  other  packets;  a 
small  case,  a  tiny  discolored  envelope,  and  a  third 
larger  inclosure  which  had  occupied  most  of  the 
space. 

I  opened  the  small  case.  It  contained  a  ring  of 
412 


The  Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

ancient  workmanship,  bearing  an  immense  dia- 
mond. This,  at  least,  had  lost  no  lustre  during  its 
long  confinement.  It  sparkled  and  glittered  as 
though  it  were  rejoiced  to  be  free.  I  was  no  judge 
of  such  things,  but  could  see  that  it  was  a  gem  of 
blue  radiance,  and  that  its  value  must  be  very  great. 
But  I  did  not  stop  long  over  it  just  then. 

Hastily  opening  the  tiny  envelope  I   found  its 
contents  to  be  the  original  label  of  the  violin. 


So  then,  the  violin  was  from  the  hand  of  Joseph 
Guarnerius  "del  Gesu." 

For  a  moment  only  I  examined  this.  It  was  no 
surprise,  since  it  only  corroborated  what  all  who 
had  ever  seen  the  instrument  had  known  at  a  glance 
— that  it  was  the  work  of  a  foremost  master  hand. 

I  now  opened  the  third,  last  and  largest  packet. 
Rolled  within  this  was  a  document.  It  was  in  good 
condition,  the  ink  a  little  pale  and  the  parchment 
very  yellow,  but  perfectlv  legible. 

It  was,  however,  written  in  a  curious  cramped 
minute  script,  and  upon  trying  to  read  it  I  found 
it  to  be  in  Italian  and  in  an  old  dialect.  I  knew 
more  Italian  by  this  time  than  I  had  in  Cattaro,  and 
had  the  document  been  in  classical  Italian  and  mod- 
ern script  I  could  have  read  a  good  part  of  it  at 
once. 


The   A  c  c  u  r  s'e  d   R  o  c  c  o  s 

In  this  case  an  exact  translation  was  beyond  me, 
but  after  spending  hours  over  it,  I  was  able  to 
gather  enough  of  its  meaning  to  feel  sure  that  I 
knew  its  general  purport.  It  was  a  sort  of  will, 
and  the  signature  of  Albina  Portulan  concluded  it. 

In  it  was  some  reference  to  a  son  born  out  of 
wedlock;  references  to  days  of  sin  and  strife,  and 
a  mention  of  another  will ;  a  reference  to  the  female 
heir  of  the  fourth  generation.  The  name  "Le  Tre 
Sorelle"  occurred  in  the  same  sentence  with  "heri- 
tage" and  "above  ground  and  under  ground"  and 
"by  far  the  largest  part  of  my  possessions."  Here, 
also,  was  some  mention  of  the  "accursed  Roccos." 

Further  on  I  deciphered,  "even  its  servants  are 
turning  away  from  the  Church"  and  "no  person  to 
trust."  There  were  some  words  about  "taking  pos- 
session" and  "may  the  Church  bless  and  forefend 
her." 

There  was  reference  to  a  ring.  I  was  able  to 
read  in  full  "seek  longest  in  that  part  of  the  house 
where  the  spirit  of  God  is  most  likely  to  abide." 

Then  the  will  recited  what  seemed  to  be  a  curse, 
directed,  as  far  as  I  could  gather,  at  any  one  who 
should  interfere  with  the  course  of  either  will — a 
long  and  comprehensive  curse,  speaking  of  her  own 
return,  and  which  seemed  to  include  the  sixth  gen- 
eration. 

The  will  concluded  with  the  date — the  thirtieth 
day  of  June,  seventeen  hundred  eighty-nine,  and 
the  words  "May  the  Republic  endure,"  followed  by 
her  signature. 

The  will  had  been  written,  to  the  very  day,  just 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years  before  the  death  of 
Lubitza ! 

I  shivered.  Was  it  the  sight  of  the  grey  shade 
of  her  great-grandmother  that  had  brought  that 
414 


The   AccursedRoccos 

terrible  look  to  Lubitza's  face  during  her  last  living 
moment  ? 

But  if  I  could  not  fully  read  the  ancient  docu- 
ment, I  knew  its  sense,  and  that  was  that  a  vast 
treasure  in  some  form  or  other  existed  in  the  old 
ruin  near  Cattaro,  in  some  part  of  it  "where  the 
spirit  of  God  is  most  likely  to  abide."  I  gathered 
that  his  treasure  belonged  to  my  loved  one,  from  the 
connection  with  Le  Tre  Sorelle;  for  by  the  other 
will,  Gisela  now  owned  the  supposed  worthless 
ruin. 

If  that  had  gone  to  the  Church  when  she  took 
the  veil,  it  did  not  matter.  It  would  be  easy  to  ac- 
quire ownership  of  such  a  worthless  piece  of  prop- 
erty, and  my  plan  already  began  to  take  shape. 
Fate  had  brought  this  treasure  to  my  hand,  and 
made  me  Gisela's  guardian,  since  she  was  where 
she  could  not  act  for  herself ;  or  was  it  Fate  ?  Had 
old  Albina  selected  me  and  taken  her  own  way  to 
bring  about  the  situation?  Had  it  been  her  im- 
perious will  that  had  so  driven  me  that  Christmas 
Eve  out  in  Cottage  ?  Had  it  been  her  ghostly  hand 
that  had  held  mine  when  I  would  have  destroyed 
the  loved  instrument  of  her  loved  one?  I  glanced 
fearfully  around  the  shadowy  room,  half  expecting 
to  see  her  standing  there;  a  state  of  mind  not 
soothed  by  the  persistent  storm  which  was  still  rag- 
ing outside. 

My  clock  struck  three.  My  excitement  grew 
and  grew.  What  this  would  mean  for  Gisela  was 
a  question  which,  as  yet,  had  but  a  shadowy  answer, 
but  even  so  far,  in  her  case,  I  had  learend  the 
power  of  wealth,  and  I  believed  it  could  be  exer- 
cised again,  even  if  the  wave  must  reach  the  feet 
of  the  Holy  Father  himself.  That  the  treasure  in 
Le  Tre  Sorelle  was  large — very  large — I  did  not 
415 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

doubt  for  a  moment.  The  will  clearly  spoke  of 
"by  far  the  largest  part  of  my  possessions."  It 
must,  then,  be  worth  much  more  than  the  vineyards 
were  in  her  day.  To-day  these  were  worth  a  mil- 
lion crowns.  Sbutega  had  said  that  they  had  once 
been  worth  less  than  that,  but  they  must  have  been 
rich  possessions  in  Albina's  day  when  that  land 
was  opulent  and  prosperous  under  the  beneficent 
Venetian  rule.  Besides,  in  the  banker's  account  the 
then  heir  and  the  Church  were  pictured  as  having 
been  in  a  state  of  extreme  anger  at  the  vast  shrink- 
age of  the  fortune.  This  was,  then,  the  lost  prop- 
erty, and  was  far  greater  than  that  which  the  heir- 
in-trust  had  received.  Yes,  there  must  be  enough 
to  buy  Gisela's  release  from  the  very  veil  itself — 
and  much  more  than  enough ! 

My  excitement  completely  mastered  me  and  the 
revulsion  of  feeling  from  black  despair  to  intense 
joy,  produced  a  kind  of  madness.  A  further  study 
of  the  document  was  neither  possible  nor  reason- 
able. Keeping  out  the  ring,  I  replaced  the  other 
articles  in  the  violin  whence  they  had  been  taken, 
laid  the  chest  back  in  place,  replaced  the  violin  in 
its  carved  box,  and  re-locked  the  whole  in  the 
trunk. 

I  lay  myself  down  upon  a  couch  without  undress- 
ing, and  planned  incoherently  until  the  day  broke. 
I  slept,  finally,  sometime  between  six  and  seven 
o'clock,  dreaming  wildly  of  craters  of  diamonds 
and  gold,  of  nuns,  stilettos,  and  of  shades  of  the 
departed. 

I  woke  about  eleven,  called  my  wondering  ser- 
vant, and  caused  still  further  astonishment  by  re- 
engaging her  for  an  indefinite  period,  and  ordering 
the  first  trunk  unpacked  again.  I  next  visited  the 
Haus-herr  and  re-engaged  the  apartment,  making 
416 


The   Accursid    R  o  c  c  o  s 

scant  reply  to  his  raillery  about  my  changes  of  mind. 
These  steps  were  urgent,  as  I  would  be  too  much 
engaged  to  be  in  a  position  to  shunt  from  pillar  to 
post  as  regarded  my  abode.  Then,  after  cautioning 
my  servant  not  to  send  any  trunks  to  the  store- 
room, I  left  the  house  and  sent  an  urgent  telegram 
to  Harry  to  come  at  once;  for  this  would  be  the 
time  of  all  times  in  my  life  when  I  would  need  him. 

Then  I  visited  a  well  known  jeweler  in  the  city 
with  a  view  of  having  a  value  set  upon  the  ring. 

Very  many  people  in  the  city  knew  me  by  sight 
and  knew  of  my  connection  with  the  notorious 
tragedy  in  St.  Cecilia's  church.  More  than  one 
inkling  of  the  way  Gisela  had  been  railroaded  away 
from  "justice"  had  become  current  in  past  months, 
and  one  newspaper  had  even  printed  one  of  the 
usual  stinging  articles  about  the  miscarriage  of 
justice  where  the  rich  were  concerned.  In  short, 
everybody  believed  me  to  be  a  rich  man.  This  is 
a  great  disadvantage,  usually,  when  the  belief  is 
ill-founded,  but  I  was  glad  of  it  now,  as  I  could 
show  the  ring  to  the  jeweler  with  impunity.  And 
this  impression  was  exceedingly  favorable  for  my 
future  plans,  which  after  sleep  began  to  take  a 
more  settled  line.  Now  that  hope,  even  certainty, 
had  come  back  to  me,  I  was  tranquil  and  happy, 
and  could  think  more  lucidly. 

The  jeweler  gaped  and  stared  when  he  saw  the 
ring 

"Where  in  the  world  did  you  find  this,  Herr 
Doktor!  It  is  an  ancient  ring!" 

"It  has  been  in  our  family  for  a  century.  Its 
history  is  rather  long.  What  value  has  it  to-day?" 

He  donned  his  magnifier  and  examined  the  stone 
with  great  care  and  interest. 

"It  is  a  flawless  blue  diamond  of  the  very  finest 
417 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

quality !  It  is  very  difficult  to  estimate  its  value — 
it  is  so  out  of  the  ordinary  run  of  goods.  Then, 
its  cutting  is  of  the  old  style.  To  re-cut  it  in  mod- 
ern style  will  reduce  its  weight  but  greatly  improve 
its  brilliancy.  You  could  well  afford  to  do  it.  It 
is  so  large  that  the  necessary  reduction  in  weight 
would  scarcely  alter  its  value.  Only  don't  put  it  in 
bad  hands  for  the  work!  Then  again,  to  any  one 
who  values  a  genuine  old  piece,  the  ring  would  be 
almost  priceless  as  it  is.  It  is  difficult  to  value  it. 
To  you,  Herr  Doktor,  who  can  afford  to  own  it,  I 
would  say,  keep  it!" 

"I  am  not  thinking  of  selling  it  now,  but  have 
never  had  a  value  set  upon  it.  What  is  the  least 
you  believe  it  would  bring  if  I  decide  to  sell  it 
later?" 

"The  least?" 

"The  very  least." 

"Eighty-five  or  ninety  thousand  crowns,"  he 
answered  gravely.  "Also  if  you  take  it  to  London 
you  will  get  the  hundred.  There  is  the  great  mar- 
ket, Herr  Doktor  Ransome." 

It  was  half  the  sum  I  had  given  the  convent ! 

I  thanked  the  old  gentleman  and  he  in  person 
held  the  door  for  me  to  pass  out. 

"If  you  decide  to  sell  it  on  the  Continent  please 
let  me  know.  No  one  will  haggle  or  bargain  with 
you  over  that  ring.  They  will  either  frankly  buy 
it,  or  not,  according  to  their  circumstances.  It 
would  be  an  advertisement  to  any  house  to  handle 
it.  If  you  are  offered  less  than  eighty  thousand 
crowns,  bring  it  back  here.  I  will  give  that  much 
any  moment  you  come." 

This  intelligence  was  the  last  item  needed  to  put 
me  at  ease.  I  did  not  know,  yet,  why  the  ring  had 
been  inclosed  with  the  will,  but  the  ring  was  un- 
418 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

doubtedly  a  safe  exponent  of  that  which  lay  con- 
cealed somewhere  in  Le  Tre  Sorelle. 

Our  happiness  was  in  sight,  and  my  one  regret 
was  that  Gisela  could  not  know  it  for  a  good  while 
to  come.  Now,  care  and  caution  only  were  need- 
ed. For  the  present  I  could  only  wait,  for  I  must 
have  a  precise  translation  of  the  will  before  taking 
another  step. 


419 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HARRY  arrived  the  morning  of  the  next  day  but 
one,  and  I  took  him  and  his  things  directly  home. 
I  directed  my  servant  to  find  temporary  rooms  out- 
side, and  to  clear  up  her  work  and  leave  for  the 
day,  after  two  in  the  afternoon,  thus  insuring  that 
from  then  on,  Harry  and  I  would  be  alone  in  the 
apartment. 

When  we  were  by  ourselves,  I  began  my  recital. 
He  listened  with  all  the  attention  I  could  have 
asked,  but  rose  excitedly  and  interrupted  me  with 
his  favorite  word  when  I  came  to  tell  of  the  inten- 
tion of  breaking  the  violin  over  a  chair  back  and 
burning  the  pieces. 

"You  jackass!  Did  you  do  it?  Tell  me  at 
once !" 

Then  I  had  his  ear  again  for  awhile  until  he 
heard  how  the  violin  had  been  opened  and  what 
had  been  found  inside.  From  that  moment  I 
realized  that  his  real  attention  had  stood  still.  He 
commented  variously  on  the  facts  but  as  soon  as 
he  decently  could  he  asked  to  see  the  violin.  Rea- 
lizing that  it  was  folly  to  expect  anything  from 
him  until  this  wish  had  been  satisfied  I  got  it  out, 
laid  its  contents  upon  the  table  and  passed  the  parts 
over  to  him.  He  examined  them  with  care. 

"A  very  lucky  outcome !"  he  exclaimed.  "You 
have  removed  the  belly  without  cracking  or  even 
chipping  it.  Ed,  if  you  had  smashed  this  violin  I 
believe  I  could  have  killed  you  !'•' 

Then  he  called  for  the  label  and  examined  that. 
420 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"It  is  half  torn  through,  but  otherwise  intact. 
What  glorious  luck!" 

Then  he  returned  to  the  parts  of  the  violin  again. 

"This  packet  was  in  contact  with  the  base-bar. 
That  fully  explains  its  curious  thin  dry  tone.  It  is 
absolutely  uninjured,  Ed!  It  only  wants  putting 
together  and  adjusting  to  be  as  good  as  it  ever  was ! 
You  must  let  me  take  it  to  Haudek." 

"Go  right  away,  Harry !"  I  said,  laughing.  "Be- 
cause until  you  have  heard  it  after  the  repair,  I 
know  you  will  be  perfectly  useless  to  me." 

"Oh,  it  isn't  so  bad  as  all  that!  But  give  me 
the  label  and  parts.  Put  the  other  things  some- 
where else." 

He  placed  the  label  in  another  envelope  and  re- 
turned all  lovingly  to  the  carved  case.  Then  he 
turned  to  me. 

"Now  I  can  listen  better.  Go  over  the  last  part 
again." 

I  did  so. 

"Let  me  see  the  ring.  A  hundred  thousand 
crowns!  Gee!  That  will  buy  the  two  best  Stradi- 
varius  violins  in  the  world!  And  for  this  bauble! 
Well,  that  is  something  sure  for  her,  anyway." 

"After  seeing  this  ring  do  you  doubt  the  rest  of 
the  treasure?" 

"No — not  if  it  still  be  there." 

"If  it  still  be  there?" 

"Yes.  I  suppose  this  will  was  written  at  the 
time  she  concealed  the  treasure.  Thus  it  was  a 
hundred  and  more  years  ago.  Much  can  happen 
in  that  time.  However,  it  is  probably  still  there. 
I  believe  they  told  us  that  summer  that  this  old 
witch  had  not  lived  in  Le  Tre  Sorelle  during  her 
last  years.  That  was  a  clever  move,  for  the 
searching  for  the  lost  estate  naturally  was  made 
421 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

where  she  last  had  lived.  As  wise  an  old  partridge 
as  that  probably  did  the  concealing  well.  I  have 
little  doubt  but  that  all  is  still  there.  But  you 
must  act  with  great  caution." 

"Yes,  I  see  that.  We  must  manage  to  get  pos- 
session of  it  and  turn  it  into  an  actual  bank  ac- 
count before  any  inkling  of  its  existence  leaks  out." 

"Yes,  and  keep  silent  thereafter  for  the  rest  of 
our  lives.  Take  no  one  else  into  your  confidence 
— the  Signorina  Gisela  least  of  anyone.  If  a  nun 
have  taken  the  vow  of  poverty,  she  can  not  own 
property.  Also  the  Signorina  may  have — indeed, 
from  what  you  have  related,  does  have,  an  idealist's 
notion  of  her  duty. 

Also,  this  will  is  a  very  curious  one,  to  say  the 
least.  It  was  made  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Re- 
public which  has  long  ceased  to  exist.  There  may 
be  a  half  hundred  descendants  of  Albina  who  could 
attack  it  successfully.  I  fancy  that  its  only  use  to 
the  Signorina  lies  in  the  information  it  contains. 
You  say  you  could  not  read  all  of  it?" 

"No.  That  is  the  first  item  in  which  I  expect 
your  help,  Harry.  You  are  at  home  in  Italian." 

"Not  quite,  but  I  dare  say  I  can  read  it.  I'll 
make  that  a  job  for  to-night  after  all  gets  quiet." 

"Good  old  boy !    What  do  you  suggest  further  ?" 

"Your  first  work  is  to  sell  the  ring.  Since  your 
jeweler  advised  it,  get  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
him  and  take  it  to  London." 

"It  has  occurred  to  me,  Harry,  that  it  would  be 
a  good  plan  for  me  to  become  the  actual  and  full 
owner  of  Le  Tre  Sorelle." 

"Excellent.  Of  course  it  is  of  no  use  to  the  Sig- 
norina, or  to  her  convent,  or  to  anybody  else.  You 
may  be  supposed  to  wish  to  own  it  as  a  memory 
422 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

of  her.     No  one  will  see  anything  unnatural  in  that, 
and  you  can  say  so,  openly." 

"And  I  can  buy  it  for  a  song.  I'll  obtain  the 
title  through  Doctor  Sommer.  By  the  way,  Harry, 
that  will  take  some  days,  and  so  will  the  trip  to 
London.  We  may  as  well  divide  these  tasks  and 
save  time.  You  go  to  London  and  sell  the  ring 
for  me,  while  I  get  possession  of  Le  Tre  Sorelle. 
Then  we  can  go  down  to  Cattaro  together." 

"All  right.  What  is  your  plan  when  you  get  to 
Cattaro?" 

"So  much  has  not  matured  yet.  We  can  both 
be  thinking  it  over." 

"Well,  I'll  translate  the  will  to-night.  That  may 
suggest  something.  And  I'll  start  for  London  to- 
morrow night.  •  You  can  get  a  couple  of  letters  for 
me  to-morrow." 

"Very  well." 

Late  that  afternoon  Harry  laboriously  and  care- 
fully removed  the  adhering  wax  from  the  inside  of 
the  violin  and  then  took  it  down  town  to  Haudek. 
When  Harry  returned  he  reported  that  the  luthier 
was  as  enthusiastic  over  the  instrument  as  he  was. 

"I  shall  look  upon  the  use  of  this  violin  for  a 
couple  of  years  as  my  reward  for  enduring  you  as 
a  friend,"  he  remarked,  "that  is,  in  case  we  succeed 
in  putting  the  treasure  safely  at  her  disposal." 

"You  will,  eh?" 

"Yes.  You  have  shown  yourself  unfit  to  have 
the  custody  of  it !"  he  asserted  angrily. 

"Use  it  your  lifetime,  old  boy !" 

"What?  Done !  Now  I  shall  be  your  real  friend, 
Did  jack" 

"You  wouldn't  have  been  anyhow,  I  suppose,"  I 
laughed. 

'As  regards  that — it  is  very  lucky  for  you,  my 
423 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

son,  that  I  have  not  found  this  violin  in  kindling 
wood !" 

That  evening  about  ten,  Harry  sat  down  to  trans- 
late the  will.  It  did  not  prove  over  easy  sailing 
even  for  him,  and  it  was  after  one  when  he  finally 
announced  that  he  had  finished.  He  re-wrote  his 
draft  in  an  orderly  sequence  and  handed  it  to  me. 
It  read  as  follows: — 

"I,  the  Signora  Albina  Portulan,  born  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  seventeen  hundred  and  twenty-eight, 
second  daughter  and  only  surviving  child  of  Pietro 
Rocco,  navigator  and  merchant,  do  recommend  my 
soul  to  God  my  Creator,  to  the  Sacred  Virgin 
Maria,  to  the  holy  Saint  of  my  mother's  name,  to 
my  holy  guardian  angel  and  to  the  whole  Celestial 
Court ;  and  I  entreat  their  assistance  in  the  moment 
of  my  last  agony,  that  I  may  save  this  poor  soul. 

Being  now  in  age  and  having  left  to  me  but 
one  direct  heir,  namely  my  son  Giuseppe  born  out 
of  wedlock,  I  do,  by  means  of  this  instrument, 
command  that  the  following  things  be  done. 

This  day  is  full  of  sin  and  strife  and  no  con- 
nection of  mine  including  my  son,  is  worthy  to  bear 
the  burden  of  the  great  fortune  of  which  I  shall 
die  possessed.  Therefore  I  have  divided  my  pos- 
sessions into  two  unequal  parts.  Of  this  the  small 
part,  now  existing  as  real  property,  I  have  devised 
by  a  public  will,  separate  from  the  present  writing. 
I  again  direct  that  the  public  will  just  mentioned 
shall  be  administered  in  accordance  with  its  terms, 
the  heir  being  my  female  heir  of  the  fourth  genera- 
tion, counting  me  as  the  first. 

But  now  mark  all  ye  concerned  and  in  interest! 

By  this,  my  second  and  last  and  private  wil 
hereby  embodied  in  my  own  hand,  I  do  command 
424 


The  Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

that  the  heritage  of  the  house  known  as  Le  Tre 
Sorelle  shall  include  all  that  may  therein  be  found, 
either  above  ground  or  under  ground,  namely  all 
property  of  which  I  shall  die  possessed  except  the 
tracts  clearly  described  in  my  public  will ;  so  thus 
there  shall  attach  to  the  inheritress  of  Le  Tre  So- 
relle by  far  the  largest  part  of  my  possessions. 

Thus  shall  I  insure  that  she  shall  receive  the 
most  who  loved  some  other  person  or  thing  better 
than  she  loved  wealth,  and  thus  that  no  male  de- 
scendant of  the  accursed  Roccos  shall  succeed  me. 
For  every  one  of  us  has,  for  the  sake  of  wealth, 
taken  either  another's  life  or  his  own. 

When  this  parchment  shall  be  discovered,  that 
female  heir  who  failed  to  inherit  under  my  public 
will,  shall  at  once  become  the  owner  not  only  of 
Le  Tre  Sorelle,  but  also  of  all  that  she  may  find 
therein,  above  ground  or  below  ground. 

The  times  are  unsettled  and  all,  even  the  ser- 
vants thereof,  are  turning  away  from  the  Church. 
There  is  no  person  whom  I  can  trust  to  carry  out 
my  will.  Therefore  I  inclose  it  in  the  secret  place 
where  it  will  be  found,  in  the  hope  that  whoever 
will  find  it  will  have  enough  of  the  honor  and  faith 
which  the  Church  teaches,  to  enable  the  carrying 
out  of  my  wishes. 

With  this  packet  I  inclose  a  ring  the  sale  of 
which  will  enable  the  future  heir  to  find  the  neces- 
sary means,  if  needed  for  taking  possession  of  her 
heritage,  or  of  protecting  her  interests  in  other 
ways,  until  entire  possession  is  obtained. 

Let  her  who  seeks  further,  seek  longest  in  that 
part  of  the  house  in  which  the  spirit  of  God  is 
most  likely  to  abide.  Let  her  take  possession  of 
all  she  finds,  and  may  the  Church  bless  and  fore- 
fend  her! 

425 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

Should  this  parchment  fall  into  hands  which 
make  any  use  of  it  contrary  to  my  command;  or 
if  either  will  be  annulled  or  interfered  with;  or  if 
any  compulsion,  over-influence  or  purposeful  ne- 
glect, lead  to  a  miscarriage  of  what  I  have  com- 
manded in  either  will,  whereby  any  of  my  estate 
be  kept  out  of  the  hands  into  which  I  order  it  to 
be  given — then  may  the  uttermost  Wrath  of  God 
descend  upon  him  or  her  who  has  disobeyed  my 
will  and  upon  him  or  her  who  profit  by  such  dis- 
obedience. May  the  Wrath  of  God  descend  upon 
them — yea  unto  the  sixth  generation  may  they  live 
under  God's  curse,  and  die  without  absolution, 
hated  by  Heaven  and  Earth  alike,  having  a  with- 
ered death  in  life,  a  blasted  life  forever  in  death. 
And  if  it  be  in  my  power,  my  Shadow  shall  return 
to  Earth  and  shall  follow  him  or  her,  yea  unto  the 
sixth  generation  as  I  have  said. 

I  write  this  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  June  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine.  May  the  Republic  endure! 

ALBINA  PORTULAN." 

"What  an  irony!"  remarked  Harry.  "The  heir 
who  kept  the  law  was  to  receive  the  least!" 

"Harry,  it  is  easy  to  read  between  the  lines !  It 
was  not  irony.  It  was  just  the  last  word  of  one 
who,  trying  to  escape  from  a  curse,  found  the  cup 
of  pleasure  and  asceticism  alike  bitter,  and  turned, 
at  last,  with  a  tremulous  groping  hand  toward  sim- 
ple human  charity  and  tenderness.  There  are  peo- 
ple who  go  through  life  unloved  by  all  who  come 
in  contact  with  them,  with  the  result  that  their  own 
hand  is  forever  raised  against  their  fellows,  and 
yet  they  are  often  people  who  wish  to  be  loved,  but 
cannot  be  because  of  unfortunate  personal  charac- 
426 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

teristics.  I  suppose  Albina  was  such  a  one;  and  at 
the  end  of  her  life  the  tenderness  for  purely  human 
things  came  uppermost." 

At  this  instant  Harry  and  I,  both  alike,  looked 
at  one  another  with  a  start.  We  both  had  the 
feeling  as  if  a  cool  tender  zephyr  had  caressed  our 
faces — then  an  impression  as  though  Something 
that  had  been  present,  had  left  us.  And  yet  doors 
and  windows  were  closed,  and  the  night  was  very 
still. 

"Come,  Ed,  we  better  go  to  bed !" 

And  we  soon  did. 


427 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

IT  was  one  Sunday  nearly  a  month  later  that 
Harry  and  I  found  ourselves  again  traversing  the 
beautiful  Bocche  of  Cattaro.  I  had  a  letter  of 
credit  on  the  bank  at  Cattaro  but  the  checks  thereon 
would  now  be  indorsed  by  another  hand,  as  we  had 
learned  that  Signer  Sbutega,  by  reason  of  a  sud- 
den ailment,  had  passed  a  few  weeks  before.  This 
news  had  caused  me  a  more  than  passing  regret, 
for  he  had  wished  to  be  my  friend,  and  I  realized 
that  his  willingness  to  sacrifice  me  had  been  to 
superior  force  as  he  saw  it.  Also  I  liked  to  believe 
that  perhaps  he  would  not  have  deserted  me  had  I 
personally  ever  needed  him. 

Besides  the  letter  of  credit,  I  had  in  my  trunk 
full  title  deeds  to  Le  Tre  Sorelle,  including  three 
metres  of  ground  round  about  the  house.  One  of 
these  deeds  bore  Gisela's  signature,  and  the  sight 
of  that  name  on  the  deed  was,  alone,  worth  the 
price  I  had  paid  for  the  house,  although  that  had 
been  much  more  than  its  real  value.  For  I  looked 
upon  that  deed  as  a  letter  to  me;  the  only  letter 
she  could  write  me  now. 

I  carried  with  me  a  third  possession  which  was 
worth  more  than  the  others.  This  was  not  in  writ- 
ing. It  was  a  consciousness — a  piece  of  knowl- 
edge— an  assurance,  that,  given  success  in  my  pres- 
ent enterprise,  I  should  be  able  to  obtain  the  liberty 
of  Gisela.  During  the  past  month  I  had  engaged 
Doctor  Sommer  to  sift  this  matter.  On  hearing 
that  I  "had  come  into  a  large  estate"  and  was, 
therefore,  now  prepared  to  act  further  in  Gisela's 
428 


The   Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

case,  he  had  put  on  his  gravest  and  most  thought- 
ful air  and  composed  himself  to  listen. 

At  first  he  had  shaken  his  head.     He  murmured : 

"Release  of  a  nun  from  the  veil  with  permission 
to  marry!  Hum!  Release — that,  yes;  not  very 
infrequently,  for  just  reasons,  as  for  instance,  the 
state  of  bodily  health ;  but  absolution  from  the  vow 
of  chastity !  Did  she  take  the  simple,  or  the  solemn 
vow,  I  wonder!  That  question  cuts  a  large  figure 
in" 

Then  he  had  addressed  me  directly  and  impres- 
sively. 

"They  do  it,  at  Rome — perhaps  once  or  twice  in 
a  century — 'for  reasons,  always  grave  ones,  gen- 
erally those  affecting  the  welfare  of  the  Church  or, 
sometimes,  the  State.  Also,  in  this  case,  certain 
exceptional  circumstances  may  impress  the  Bureau 
sufficiently  to  bring  about  a  favorable  recommen- 
dation. The  reason  for  the  action  will  have  to  be 
a  very  stately  one,  Dr.  Ransome!"  he  concluded, 
drily. 

The  outcome  of  our  interview  was  that  he  had 
undertaken  to  give  me  an  "opinion"  in  a  fortnight. 
I  never  knew  whom  he  consulted,  or  what  his  steps 
were;  but  at  the  end  of  that  period  he  had  de- 
livered himself  of  the  following  somewhat  Delphic 
sentence : — 

"What  the  Church  took,  she  will  probably  give 
up  again ; — on  the  same  terms." 

I  understood.  And  that  I  meant  to  have  the 
treasure  if  it  still  existed,  goes  without  saying. 

After  going  through  certain  formalities  in  regard 
to  having  my  title  deeds  placed  on  record  and  tak- 
ing possession,  I  engaged  men  and  gave  the  ruin 
a  thorough  cleaning.  Other  workmen  were  en- 
gaged to  fit  up  and  repair  doors  and  windows  where 
429 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

necessary  and  to  make  a  few  other  repairs.  These 
measures  were  necessary  before  we  could  be  as- 
sured of  safe  privacy  in  conducting  our  search. 
That  the  workmen  had  the  continuous  personal 
supervision  of  one  of  us  need  hardly  be  stated. 
During  this  time  we  avoided  any  close  inspection  of 
the  interior.  Our  most  delicate  task  was  the  ob- 
taining of  tools  with  which  to  work  later  on;  for 
the  open  bringing  of  such  articles  of  our  own  into 
the  house  would  surely  have  excited  remark.  Fore- 
seeing this,  we  had  brought  along  in  a  trunk  the 
•smaller  and  more  suspicious  articles  we  would 
need,  among  which  were  a  number  of  stone-cutters' 
drills  and  two  short-handled  sledge-hammers.  But 
pickaxes,  spades  and  crowbars,  two  of  each,  had 
to  be  purchased  in  Ragusa,  put  into  a  package 
labeled  "guns,"  smuggled  by  night  into  the  house 
after  the  workmen  had  left,  and  housed  in  a  tem- 
porary closet  which  we  had  caused  them  to  build 
for  us. 

But  at  last,  after  many  delays,  came  a  day  when 
every  workman  and  loiterer  had  departed,  and 
Harry  and  I  were  free,  in  privacy,  to  begin  our 
real  work. 

Our  first  step  was  to  do  that  which  we  had  not 
dared  do  earlier,  namely,  to  make  a  careful  tour  of 
inspection. 

This  did  not  result  in  much.  There  were  bare 
walls,  bare  stone  floors,  chimneys,  remains  of  the 
floor  which  had  once  existed  between  the  second 
floors  and  the  "witches'  kitchens,"  the  most  of 
which  had  fallen  and  been  removed  many  years 
before;  windows,  doors  and  the  roof.  We  could 
find  no  spot  where,  it  seemed  to  us,  "the  spirit  of 
God"  would  be  more  "likely  to  abide"  than  any 
other.  And  yet  this  cryptic  sentence  in  the  will 
430 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

was,  in  its  way,  definite,  and  precluded  wild  and 
incoherent  searching. 

Harry  looked  hard  at  me. 

"I  wonder  if  there  ever  was  more  of  this  house 
than  now  exists?" 

We  went  out  of  doors  and  made  another  inspec- 
tion. When  a  house  has  once  been  larger  and  a 
part  has  been  removed,  there  are  always  left  traces 
of  the  dismemberment.  We  could  find  no  such 
signs.  The  only  change  that  seemed  ever  to  have 
been  made  since  it  had  been  built  was,  on  the  con- 
trary, an  addition,  or  what  seemed  to  have  been 
such.  This  was  a  small  one  and  a  half  story  part 
on  the  north  side  with  a  simple  sloping  roof,  the 
latter  having  long  since  disappeared,  leaving  the 
shed  like  portion  open  to  the  sky.  Besides,  the 
three  sections  of  the  house  were  just  alike,  the  ac- 
commodations of  each  being  the  same,  and  suffi- 
cient for  the  simple  manner  of  living  pursued  by 
even  the  wealthy  in  those  other  days.  We  easily 
decided  that  the  house  had  never  been  larger  than 
it  now  was. 

We  returned  inside  and  re-inspected  the  interior 
with  greater  care.  It  was  soon  done,  for  there 
was  so  little  to  examine.  Then  we  seated  our- 
selves upon  a  bench  and  looked  at  one  another. 

"It  begins  to  look  a  little  fishy,"  remarked  Harry. 

"I  don't  believe  it !  That  treasure  is  here !  That 
old  document  is  too  genuine  on  its  face,  and  the 
act  was  too  exactly  what  might  have  been  expected 
from  such  a  lonely  old  woman  of  her  day  and  cir- 
cumstances." 

"Oh,  I  believe  it  was  once  here,  but" 

"It  is  still  here,  Harry!  If  it  had  ever  been 
found  there  would  have  been  some  tradition  or 
story  about  it." 

431 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Will  it  ever  become  known  if  you  find  it?" 

"Not  if  I  can  help  it!  But  7  know  in  advance 
that  it  is  here.  Any  one  else  who  had  found  it 
would  have  come  upon  it  accidentally,  would  have 
been  unprepared,  and  it  would  have  leaked  out. 
Besides,  we  should  at  least  be  able  to  find  where  it 
had  been." 

Harry  nodded. 

"We  only  need  to  stop  being  excited,  and  to  rea- 
son, soberly,  a  little.  I  don't  believe  the  meaning 
of  Albina's  phrase  is  far  to  seek.  She  meant  the 
treasure  to  be  found  when  this  parchment  was 
found.  Therefore  there  can't  be  much  riddle  to  it." 

"Very  well.  Let  us  reason  then.  First  of  all 
she  must  have  hidden  the  treasure  herself.  Now 
she  was  a  woman ;  an  old  woman,  presumably  hav- 
ing only  the  physical  strength  of  an  old  woman ; 
presumably  with  only  that  knowledge  of  masonry 
and  other  such  men's  work  which  women  usually 
have.  Therefore,  in  our  search,  we  must  take  into 
consideration  what  she  would  be  able  to  do." 

"That  is  not  based  upon  any  facts  we  have, 
Harry.  She  does  not  say  she  hid  it  herself.  Her 
father  built  the  house  for  the  three  sisters.  He 
may  have  hidden  it  and  she  may  have  had  the  se- 
cret only.  Probably  she  was  the  only  one  of  the 
three  sisters  who  did  know  it,  as  the  legend  has  it 
that  she  was  Rocco's  favorite  daughter." 

"Or  he  might  have  prepared  the  place  and  she 
might  have  hidden  the  treasure  later  on.  Very 
good,  Ed." 

"Yes,  maybe.  In  those  uncertain  days,  before 
the  modern  ways  of  protecting  wealth,  it  almost 
goes  without  saying  that  every  house  had  some 
secret  hiding  place,  not  only  for  treasure,  but  also 
for  the  people  themselves,  on  occasion.  All  around 
432 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

this  gulf  you  see  ancient  houses  with  battlements, 
gun  loop-holes  and  other  arrangements  for  defence 
at  a  moment's  notice.  Such  things  go  with  secret 
hiding  places.  Again,  while  she  was  a  woman, 
presumably  with  only  the  strength  of  a  woman,  we 
must  not  forget  that  she  had  that  which  largely 
replaces  strength;  namely,  time.  Give  a  mole  time 
and  he  will  move  as  much  earth  as  a  badger.  She 
lived  alone  here  several  years  after  her  sisters  had 
died,  and  she  had  done  her  work  several  years  be- 
fore she  herself  died  at  Curzola.  She  was  only 
sixty-one  when  she  made  this  will.  Say  at  fifty- 
one  or  two  she  may  have  been  a  pretty  vigorous 
woman.  Still  again  it  makes  a  difference  in  what 
form  the  treasure  exists.  If  it  consist  of  jewels 
like  the  one  she  left  in  the  violin,  even  a  vast  sum 
may  make  but  a  relatively  small  package  and  be 
easily  hidden  away.  No,  Harry !  We  must  not 
waste  time  in  idle  searching,  but  follow  the  lead  she 
has  given  us.  These  hints  are  two.  First  she 
speaks  of  what  may  be  found  above  ground  or 
under  ground;  secondly,  she  directs  search  in  that 
part  of  the  house  where  the  spirit  of  God  is  most 
likely  to  abide.  Let  us  stick  to  these." 

"Then  it  is  below  ground,  for  there  is  no  other 
place  in  this  house  where  a  secret  vault  could  be. 
There  is  no  space  unaccounted  for  here." 

"I  think  it  probably  is  below  ground.  But  it 
would  take  the  whole  autumn  for  two  of  us  to 
dig  up  this  entire  place.  We  must  begin  with  the 
other  key.  Besides  it  may  still  be  above  ground — 
or  may  be  divided  up.  Let  us  stick  to  the  religious 
reference.  That  is  the  true  key." 

"Well,  then,  let  us  search  in  the  top  of  the 
house." 

This  did  not  appeal  to  me,  but  we  had  time,  so 
433 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

we  clambered  about  the  remains  of  the  broken 
floor,  examining  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the 
walls  and  roof  for  a  sign.  At  the  end  of  an  hour's 
work  we  both  agreed  that,  unless  the  treasure  made 
a  very  small  package  indeed,  there  was  no  place  for 
it  up  there. 

Then  we  took  the  second  floor,  seriatim.  Doors 
of  later  date  had  been  cut  through  the  two  division 
walls,  so  we  readily  passed  back  and  forth  through 
the  three  apartments  without  going  out  onto  the 
stone  portico  in  the  rear. 

''Could  the  words  refer  to  the  old  camines?" 
asked  Harry. 

"The  idea  of  God  residing  in  a  fire-place  is  a 
heathen  and  not  a  Christian  notion,  Harry.  Be- 
sides, she  was  certainly  too  shrewd  to  use  for  her 
purpose  such  a  place  which  would  often  be  dis- 
turbed by  a  repair." 

"Well,  then,  the  words  can  refer  to  nothing  on 
this  floor  unless  the  thing  referred  to  has  been 
removed.  Perhaps  there  was  once  a  prie-dieu  and 
a  crucifix  here  somewhere.  An  earnest  Catholic 
will  often  have  such  an  arrangement  in  the  house. 
But  there  is  no  sign  of  it  here  now." 

"I  believe  she  referred  to  something  more  per- 
manent, Harry.  She  did  not  wish  this  will  to  be 
found  for  many  years.  Therefore  she  would  not 
attach  a  key  to  something  that  was  merely  hung 
up  like  a  picture  or  stood  about." 

"Crucifixes  are  sometimes  massive  and  built  into 
the  wall — sometimes  one  has  a  niche  to  itself.  I 
wonder  if  this  camine  was  always  a  camine !" 

"There  is  no  other  and  this  as  well  as  the  other 
rooms  must  have  had  one  for  use  in  the  winter 
season.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  it  was  ever 
anything  else." 

434 


The    rAccursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"I  believe  this  is  the  right  track,  though !"  I  con- 
tinued. "The  words  must  refer  to  some  part  of 
the  house  especially  devoted  to  spiritual  matters. 
If  we  better  knew  the  customs  of  those  days  it 
would  help  us." 

"Yes.     That  is  the  trouble,"  he  answered. 

Harry  was  pulling  at  his  hair,  his  shoulders 
hunched,  and  looking  abstractedly  at  the  floor — a 
way  he  had  when  puzzled. 

But  that  was  as  far  as  we  got  that  day  and  for 
several  days  thereafter.  Our  "reasonings"  all 
failed  us.  We  hit  upon  this  spot  and  that  one.  We 
excavated  the  closed  window  behind  the  old  tablet 
merely  coming  upon  the  stone  of  the  tablet  itself. 
We  examined  the  basement-floor  with  the  same 
care  we  had  the  others. 

Harry  suggested  boring  the  ground  systemati- 
cally. 

"With  what  ?"  I  asked.  When  it  came  to  purely 
mechanical  things,  Harry  was  no  very  luminous 
light,  and  he  admitted  it.  Of  course  we  did  not 
fail  to  keep  in  mind  some  defensive  retiring  place 
of  the  sort  we  had  discussed,  but  to  dig  and  bore 
at  random  all  over  the  place  for  this  would  have 
taken  us  months,  nor  did  we  think  it  safe  to  dis- 
turb the  house  more  than  we  could  help  for  there 
was  always  the  possibility  of  a  visitor  coming  in 
upon  us,  and  we  wished  to  be  able  to  admit  any  such 
person,  as  freely  as  possible.  So  we  kept  to  the 
key  given  in  the  will,  for  some  days  without  result. 
It  was  not  until  we  had  striven  for  more  than  a 
week  that  the  light  broke,  and  then  it  came  by  acci- 
dent. 

Harry  and  I  had  retired  to  take  luncheon  at  noon 
one  day,  to  the  shade  of  a  straggling  growth  _of 
fruit  and  olive  trees  which  grew  on  the  hillside 
435 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

behind  the  house.  From  where  we  were  we  could 
see  the  areaway  behind  the  house,  but  at  the  mo- 
ment of  this  occurrence  we  were  talking  of  the  old 
violin.  Harry  had  just  informed  me  that  Herr 
Haudek  having  had  an  indisposition,  had  not  been 
able  to  finish  the  repairing  up  to  the  time  we  had 
come  away. 

"By  the  way,  Harry,  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that 
old  Albina  showed  much  foresight  in  placing  her 
will  in  that  violin.  It  might  have  been  repaired  by 
somebody  in  earlier  years." 

"You  are  wrong,  my  son.  It  was  well  thought 
cut.  In  her  days,  these  master-violins  had  com- 
paratively little  value  and  there  were  more  of  them 
extant.  Thus  there  were  fewer  repairs.  It  is 
only  another  example  of  the  fact  that  the  simplest 
and  most  unexpected  ways  of  concealment  are 
safest.  You  see  most  people's  minds  work  more 
or  less  alike  in  such  things  and  any  one  experi- 
enced in  searching  for  hidden  things  knows,  most 
times,  just  about  where  to  put  his  hands  upon 
them.  She  was  a  clever  old  bird  and  knew  that 
about  the  last  place  one  would  look  for  such  a 
thing  would  be  inside  of  a  violin.  She  showed  con- 
summate cleverness  in  putting  the  label  out  of 
sight.  If  she  foresaw  a  rise  in  the  value  of  violins 
she  also  rightly  concluded  that  such  would  not 
occur  for  a  great  while.  She  took  care  to  have 
the  violin  preserved  by  willing  it  in  her  public  will 
to  the  one  who  would  receive  Le  Tre  Sorelle. 
Under  such  circumstances  a  repair  was  not  likely. 
For  the  rest,  she  took  her  chances.  It  was  the 
only  thing  she  could  do.  She  had  to  chance  some 
secret  way  or  other.  Also  there  probably  were 
urgent  reasons  for  secrecy  beside  that  given  in  the 

436 


The   Accursed   R  o  c  c  o  s 

will.  Her  cleverness  and  foresight  are  proved  by 
the  outcome." 

There  was  some  more  conversation  and  in  the 
course  of  it  we  noticed  a  very  old  and  bent  woman 
come  into  the  area-way  from  the  street,  in  order  to 
ascend  a  ruinous  stone  stairway  to  gain  the  orchard 
where  we  were.  We  had  seen  her  several  times 
before  and  knew  she  belonged  in  a  house  a  con- 
siderable distance  up  the  hill.  We  both  glanced 
idly  at  her,  and  I  returned  to  my  meal. 

Suddenly  Harry  grasped  my  wrist  with  a  fear- 
ful grip  and  made  me  spill  a  glass  of  wine. 

"What  the  h— " 

"Ssh!— Go  on  eating!    Pon't  let  on!" 

The  old  woman  disappeared  behind  the  wall. 
Presently  her  head  slowly  rose  above  the  top  of 
the  stairway,  followed  by  her  body,  and  wheezing, 
she  began  slowly  to  ascend  the  path.  In  suppressed 
excitement,  Harry  watched  her  disappear  among 
the  trees.  Then  he  whispered  tensely: — • 

"Ed,  I've  got  it !    Sure !" 

"Got  what?    A  fit?" 

"The  key  to  the  riddle !" 

I  looked  at  him,  stupified. 

"Ed,  when  that  old  woman  came  through  the 
area-way  down  there,  she  made  a  little  pause  before 
that  one-story  part,  and  bobbed  her  head  and 
crossed  herself !" 

With  one  accord  we  threw  the  remains  of  the 
lunch  into  the  baskets  and  hastened  there. 

We  had  given  this  part  of  the  house  scant  at- 
tention hitherto,  as  we  both  thought  it  must  have 
been  added  long  after  Albina's  time.  It  seemed 
newer,  was  built  of  better  stone  and  better  put 
together  than  the  main  house,  and  saving 
the  want  of  a  roof  was  far  less  ruinous.  It  con- 
437 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

tained  nothing  whatever  but  an  enormous  solid 
stone  bench  or  table  at  the  front  end  the  which  we 
had  taken  for  a  device  for  the  household  milling  of 
grain,  or  as  designed  for  some  other  domestic  pur- 
pose. We  stood  in  the  doorway  and  gazed  at  this 
bench  in  silence. 

"Ed,  we  have  indeed  been  a  pair  of  jackasses ! 
That  is  an  altar.  Or  was  once !" 

Harry  and  I  would  have  sold  ourselves  very 
cheaply  just  then.  When  we  recovered  our  wits 
a  little  we  proceeded  to  give  this  part  a  very  minute 
examination  from  the  outside.  Now  we  saw  what 
we  should  have  seen  in  the  first  place,  namely  that 
the  part  had  been  no  addition.  It  was  contempo- 
raneous with  the  older  part,  for  the  dovetailing  of 
its  stones  into  the  walls  of  the  main  house  was  not 
of  the  character  that  indicated  a  later  addition. 
It  had  been  better  built,  and  had  lasted  better ;  that 
was  all. 

Then  we  went  inside  and  examined  the  altar. 
Its  every  detail  indicated  that  it  had  been  there, 
absolutely  undisturbed,  for  a  vast  number  of  years, 
although  it  had  certainly  been  used  for  other  pur- 
poses at  various  times. 

This  part  had,  then,  been  a  private  chapel  where 
in  times  of  danger,  perhaps,  the  sisters  could  hear 
a  mass  read  without  risking  a  journey  to  a  church. 
In  our  further  examination  we  found  nothing  ad- 
ditional save  the  fact  that  there  had  once  been  a 
communicating  door  between  the  basement  of  the 
main  house  and  the  chapel.  This  had  been  roughly 
stoned  up.  We  went  to  the  altar  again. .  Harry 
laid  his  hand  upon  it. 

"Here  is  the  place !    And  wisely  chosen !    For  of 
all  places,  in  a  Roman  Catholic  country,  such  a  one 
would  be  the  least  likely  to  be  disturbed." 
438 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

After  considering  the  matter  further  we  decided 
that  it  was  too  late,  that  day,  to  begin  opening  it, 
for  it  was  urgent  that,  having  once  fixed  upon  the 
right  spot,  we  complete  our  work  in  one  day  if 
possible,  in  order  not  to  have  to  leave  the  work 
over  night.  So  we  occupied  the  rest  of  the  after- 
noon in  breaking  a  passage  through  the  former 
communicating  doorway,  in  order  not  to  have  to 
pass  back  and  forth  by  going  out  of  doors,  thus 
keeping  our  operations  unobserved  by  chance  pedes- 
trians or  loiterers.  So  far,  we  had  had  no  visitors, 
and  we  were  not  desiring  company  just  then. 


439 


CHAPTER  XIX 

DAY  was  just  breaking  the  morning  following 
when  we  again  set  to  work.  We  brought  food 
enough  for  three  days,  having  determined  not  to 
leave  the  task  again  until  it  was  finished.  We 
looked  strange  to  each  other  in  white  overalls  and 
jackets  but  neither  was  in  a  joking  mood. 

For  some  minutes  we  stood  over  the  altar  study- 
ing how  best  to  begin.  We  wished  to  manage 
without  damaging  the  altar  more  than  we  could 
help,  if  for  no  other  reason,  at  least  so  we  could 
restore  it  as  nearly  as  possible  to  its  former  con- 
dition after  we  had  finished,  thus  leaving  no  trace 
of  the  operation.  But  the  top  slab  was  in  a  single 
piece,  and  very  heavy — a  good  fifteen  inches  thick, 
and  about  eight  by  four  feet  in  surface  area;  fur- 
thermore with  very  little  overhang  at  the  edges. 
Alone,  with  our  simple  tools,  of  course  we  could 
not  lift  that.  Nor  did  the  several  faces  offer  more 
chance.  They  were  paneled,  but  this  paneling  was 
done  in  the  solid  stone.  The  under  part  of  the 
altar  had  been  chiseled  from  a  solid  block,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  no  joints  except  that  between  the  base 
and  table. 

"Ed,  you  are  better  at  this  sort  of  thing  than  I 
am.  Shall  we  drill  a  series  of  holes  in  a  line 
across  one  end  of  the  slab  and  break  it  ?" 

"That  alone  would  take  all  day.  Perhaps  there 
is  a  way  in.  Albina  would  not  have  expected  a 
woman  to  break  or  move  the  stone." 

We  wasted  an  hour  trying  to  find  a  secret  en- 
trance. Every  panel  of  the  altar  rang  solid,  so 
440 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

also  the  floor  and  walls  all  round  about.  Again 
we  bemoaned  our  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  cus- 
toms of  those  days.  Anyone  who  had  lived  in  Al- 
bina's  time  or  near  then,  would  have  known  the 
way  in,  we  thought. 

"Well,  Harry,  don't  let  us  waste  more  time.  We 
must  move  the  stone.  We  will  drive  a  series  of 
drills  under  each  of  the  long  sides  of  the  top  slab 
for  the  whole  length.  Having  raised  the  stone 
onto  the  drills  we  can  turn  on  two  of  them  with 
wrenches  and  roll  the  stone  as  far  over  one  end  as 
may  be  necessary  to  reach  the  inside.  You  work 
on  that  side  and  I'll  take  this." 

We  inserted  the  drills,  one  by  one,  driving  each 
until  it  sung  a  high  note  when  struck,  replacing 
each  one  that  came  loose  and  fell  onto  the  floor. 
In  this  way  we  finally  had  the  series  of  drills  tight- 
ly in  place  on  both  sides. 

"I  don't  know  if  we  have  enough  drills.  We 
may  have  to  go  to  Cattaro  and  get  more." 

"Not  if  we  can  help  it,  sonny!"  said  Harry.  "It 
has  been  a  ticklish  enough  job  to  bring  the  tools 
we  have." 

"Well— come  on !" 

Then  began  the  tedious  work  of  striking  one 
heavy  blow  upon  each  drill  in  line,  going  back  over 
them  again  and  again.  After  awhile  Harry 
dropped  his  hammer. 

"Ed,  anybody  going  by  can  hear  this." 

"Not  to  be  helped.  The  only  thing  to  do  is  to 
get  the  pounding  done  with  as  soon  as  we  can.  If 
anybody  tries  to  come  in  we  can  throw  our  blouses 
over  the  front  of  the  altar,  and  carry  our  ham- 
mers to  the  new  opening  in  the  wall  before  letting 
them  in.  They  will  think  we  are  working  there." 

We  struck  for  another  half-hour.  Then  we 
441 


The  'Accursed  R  o  c  c  o  s 

examined  the  stone  and  found  it  was  rising  on  the 
drills.  Harry  tried  the  opened  seam  with  a  long 
straw. 

"It  is  rabbeted,"  he  announced. 

"Oh,  the  devil!  Well  let  us  hope  the  rabbet  is 
shallow.  When  we  get  ready  to  roll  it  we  can 
cut  away  enough  of  the  top  of  the  end  panel  to 
let  the  rabbet  pass." 

We  worked  on,  and  after  another  hour  the  drills 
began  to  lower  their  note  and  go  easier.  Then  we 
continued  driving  until  each  drill  struck  against 
the  rabbeted  edge  inside. 

"That  rabbet  shows  that  this  has  been  something 
more  than  an  altar.  Can  you  see  under  it  from 
your  side,  Harry?" 

"Yes.  The  rabbet  is  above  the  edge.  There  is 
a  hollow  place  under  the  top. 

With  a  file,  we  then  dressed  off  the  beaten  tops 
of  the  drills  as  they  stood  in  place,  smoothing  the 
outer  ends  of  the  shafts  as  well.  Then  we  inserted 
two  crowbars  under  a  corner,  and  sat  upon  them. 
This  took  off  enough  weight  so  one  of  us  could  re- 
verse the  drills  along  the  half  of  one  side,  bring- 
ing their  flat  cutting  ends  outward.  After  three 
more  such  steps  all  the  drills  were  reversed. 

"Now  let  us  square  up  every  drill  or  it  won't 
roll." 

We  tapped  every  drill  until  it  was  exactly  per- 
pendicular to  the  face  of  the  altar.  Then  we  rested 
a  few  minutes  and  took  some  luncheon.  Before 
we  resumed  work,  afterwards,  Harry  stepped  out- 
side and  looked  about.  He  returned  and  reported 
that  no  one  was  in  sight. 

We  examined  the  interstice  on  that  end  toward 
which  we  had  decided  to  shunt  the  stone,  and  found 
that  the  rabbet  would  pass,  having  a  clear  sixteenth 
442 


The    ^Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

of  an  inch.  We  had  only  left,  then,  to  roll  the 
stone  on  the  drills. 

We  each  placed  a  wrench  upon  an  end  drill  and 
began  turning.  The  stone  moved  slowly,  but  with- 
out much  effort  after  the  first  start.  But  it  had  to 
pass  eight  inches  out  of  place  before  we  could  see 
into  the  cavity  of  the  altar. 

At  first  we  saw  nothing  but  a  clean  opening ;  but 
after  moving  the  tablet  six  more  inches,  we  could 
see  the  beginning  of  a  very  narrow,  steep  and  con- 
fined flight  of  steps  leading  downward,  and  damp, 
dank  air  rose  from  the  opening. 

Working  with  a  will,  now,  we  soon  had  the 
stone  so  far  shunted  that  we  believed  we  could 
enter.  We  stopped,  and,  together,  looked  into  the 
place.  Harry  remarked: — 

"We  have  been  lucky  in  having  moved  the  stone 
in  the  right  direction,  otherwise  it  would  have 
bothered  us  to  reach  those  steps.  As  it  is,  I  doubt 
if  we  can  go  down  there  to-day.  I  don't  like  the 
smell  of  that  air." 

I  lit  a  match  and  held  it  as  far  inside  as  I  could. 
It  burned  as  usual. 

"The  air  is  all  right,  Harry,  only  very  damp.  I 
can  see  the  bottom  of  the  steps.  There  is  water 
down  there." 

Then  I  examined  the  first  tiny  landing  of  the 
stairway  immediately  inside  of  the  altar. 

"And  here  is  the  entrance !  See  this  little  pair 
of  tracks?  This  end  panel  of  the  side  of  the  altar 
travels  inward!  When  it  is  pushed  clear  in  to  the 
farther  side,  one  can  squeeze  through  feet  fore- 
most and  close  it  after  him.  See !  This  heavy 
wooden  -bar  just  spans  the  opening.  It  is  rotten 
now  but  you  can  see  that  it  was  just  the  right 
length.  There  is  the  socket  for  it  on  the  front 
443 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

side,  and  there  is  the  slit  in  the  rear  side  of  the 
panel  into  which  it  should  fall.  It  was  used  to 
block  the  opening  after  the  people  got  in.  This 
place  was  a  refuge — to  be  used  in  case  the  house 
was  taken." 

Harry  braced  his  back  against  the  wall  and 
pushed  against  the  panel  with  his  feet.  It  slid  in- 
ward;— a  child  could  have  done  it!  We  looked  at 
one  another  and  laughed  sourly.  Getting  down  on 
the  floor  behind  the  altar,  and  examining  the  face 
of  the  stone  we  noticed  a  small  curved  hole.  Either 
we  had  not  noticed  it  before  or  it  had  not  had  any 
significance  for  us.  It  was  partly  under  the  bot- 
tom piece  in  the  paneling  of  the  altar.  It  had  been 
inconspicuous  in  the  shadow  of  the  wall  when  the 
door  was  closed.  This  was,  of  course,  cut  for  the 
purpose  of  inserting  a  hook  in  order  to  bring  the 
door  back  into  place  from  the  outside. 

Harry  pushed  the  stone  clear  in  and  then  poked 
his  head  into  the  opening. 

"We'll  need  candles,  Ed.  I  never  thought  of 
that." 

"Nor  I.  We'll  have  to  get  them.  Anyway,  we 
cannot  go  down  into  that  damp  place  until  we  get 
well  cooled  off.  There  is  no  use  in  getting  sick. 
We  have  plenty  of  time.  We  can  go  down  to- 
night, as  well  as  this  afternoon." 

"Well,  then,  let  us  roll  the  top  slab  back  into 
place.  We've  got  the  door  now,  and  we  can't  have 
somebody  come  in  on  us  with  the  top  of  the  altar 
hanging  over  the  end  that  way." 

"Good.  It  will  take  very  little  time  to  put  it 
back  because  we  don't  have  to  raise  it." 

I  pushed  the  secret  panel  back  into  place.  By 
reversing  some  of  our  previous  steps  it  took  only 
a  little  over  an  hour  to  roll  the  stone  back  and 
444 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

lower  it  into  place.  There  were  some  marks  of  the 
operation  and  these  we  obliterated  sufficiently  for 
the  present  by  using  the  drills  to  dress  off  one  or 
two  places,  and  by  covering  these  and  others  with 
a  little  dust  and  moss.  Then,  with  our  blouses,  we 
swept  the  place  into  the  pile  produced  by  breaking 
through  the  communicating  door,  and  deposited 
some  of  the  tools  there. 

A  little  after  nine  o'clock  we  were  again  in  the 
chapel.  Harry  had  made  a  trip  to  Cattaro  and  had 
brought  back  a  supply  of  candles  and  a  couple  of 
stout  canes,  the  latter,  as  he  explained,  being  des- 
tined for  safeguards  against  rats  or  other  living 
creatures  we  might  encounter.  Then  we  donned 
our  working  clothes  and  pairs  of  old  shoes,  rolled 
the  legs  of  our  overalls  above  our  knees  and  pre- 
pared to  go  down.  We  lit  a  candle  each  and  Harry 
pushed  the  stone  clear  back. 

"Go  first,  old  man !  The  house  is  yours !"  quoth 
Harry. 

"You  are  my  guest.     Apres  vous,  M'sieur!" 

"You're  afraid!" 

"So  are  you,  my  boy." 

With  a  laugh  he  wriggled  feet  foremost,  into  the 
place.  I  handed  him  a  package  of  candles  and 
followed,  closing  the  panel  after  me.  The  quarters 
were  very  close,  but  grew  a  little  more  roomy  fur- 
ther down. 

"There  is  a  chain,"  said  Harry.  "What  was  that 
for?" 

It  was  attached  to  a  ring-bolt  at  the  side  of  one 
of  the  steps.  It  was  rusted  through  and  through 
and  lay  in  a  pile.  We  looked  about  and  finally  spied 
another  ring-bolt  bearing  a  couple  of  links  in  the 
altar  table  over  our  heads. 

445 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

"Ah.  That  chain  was  once  arranged  to  prevent 
the  very  thing  that  we  did; — that  is,  lifting  the 
stone." 

"Quite  right,  Harry!     Let's  get  on!" 

Arrived  at  the  bottom  of  the  steps,  we  found 
the  water  to  be  only  six  inches  deep.  It  lay  over 
a  small  landing  between  this  and  another  flight  of 
two  steps  which  led  to  the  right  and  upward  to  a 
very  low  door- way.  Of  this  the  door  stood  open, 
and  because  of  the  loosening  of  a  hinge,  rested 
against  the  floor.  It  had  once  been  very  heavy  and 
strong  and  was  barred  with  iron.  The  wood  was 
entirely  gone  in  places. 

We  crawled  through  the  door  and  found  our- 
selves in  a  vaulted  room  in  which  we  could  just 
stand  upright  under  the  arch  of  the  vaulting.  The 
centre  of  the  room  was  supported  by  a  short  heavy 
column  which  spread  out  at  the  top  to  blend  with 
the  vaulting.  The  masonry  was  very  ancient.  In 
one  place  near  the  top  of  the  vaulting  was  a  small 
opening,  and  in  all  the  sides  round  about  were 
crypts  in  which  were  coffins  or  sarcophagi  covered 
with  decayed  palls.  The  entire  floor  space  includ- 
ing that  occupied  by  the  column  was  not  over  twen- 
ty-five feet  square.  I  stood  under  the  opening  in 
the  ceiling  and  smelt  fresh  air. 

"That  opening  probably  joins  the  north  chim- 
ney/' said  Harry. 

"This  place  is  a  tiny  catacombs.  It  was  in  exist- 
ence long  before  the  house  was  built,  and  has  been 
utilized  as  a  hiding-place  in  time  of  need." 

"Here  is  our  crucifix!"  exclaimed  Harry. 

We  lit  several  candles  and  placed  them  about. 
Then  we  examined  the  crucifix.  It  was  rough- 
carved  in  stone,  the  figure  itself  being  of  bronze, 
and  finely  done.  It  was  large  and  stood  partly  in  a 
446 


The    'Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

somewhat  commodious  niche  which  reached  up  into 
the  vaulting.  Its  base  was  a  massive  stone. 

"It  will  be  here!"  said  Harry.  "Now  let  us 
think  a  little  before  we  do  another  job  of  break- 
ing in." 

I  put  my  arm  about  the  crucifix  and  found  it 
would  move,  although  pretty  heavy.  Harry  took 
hold  with  me  and  together  we  managed  to  lift  it 
off  and  stand  it  on  one  side.  A  part  of  the  base 
came  away  with  it,  disclosing  a  cavity  about  one 
and  one-half  by  two  feet  square. 

Within  this,  and  neatly  fitting  the  cavity  was  a 
bronze  chest  with  two  ring-bolts.  We  lifted  this 
out  without  much  effort,  and  lowered  it  onto  the 
floor.  It  was  a  shallow,  flat  case.  Below  it  was 
another  one  of  like  sort,  but  our  united  strength 
failed  to  budge  it. 

"We'd  better  open  them  down  here,  Ed.  I'll  go 
up  and  bring  the  tools." 

"Wait.  Albina  expected  that  a  woman  might 
find  these  things.  A  woman  would  have  to  have 
help  to  break  open  these  chests.  Up  to  now  she 
has  left  all  very  easy." 

"Lifting  the  crucifix,  too?"  he  asked. 

"A  woman  could  have  overturned  it." 

"A  woman  would  have  to  have  help  in  dispos- 
ing of  this  treasure  after  she  had  found  it,  Ed." 

"Yes — now.  Albina  did  not  foresee  the  present 
great  change  in  conditions.  In  those  days  when  a 
person  suddenly  grew  rich,  no  questions  were 
asked.  They  were  days  of  piracy  and  other  secret 
wealth  getting.  I  think  we  may  find  keys,  if  we 
search." 

"Perhaps  she  hasen't  even  locked  the  boxes." 

"Perhaps.  There  wouldn't  be  much  use  in  lock- 
ing them.  Here !  Take  hold !" 

447 


The    ^Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

I  seized  the  door  handle  and  Harry  with  me. 
We  each  placed  a  foot  upon  a  corner  of  the  chest. 
After  several  heavy  jerks  it  flew  open  and  we  both 
measured  our  lengths  on  the  pavement.  Neither 
stopped  to  do  any  rubbing,  but  scrambled  back  to 
the  chest. 

Packed  snugly  inside  were  twenty-four  dis- 
colored leathern  bags.  Opening  several  at  random 
we  found  three  filled  with  loose  jewels,  all  of  fair 
size  and  some  very  large.  Two  contained  diamonds 
only,  one  a  collection  of  precious  stones  of  vari- 
ous sorts.  There  were  sixty-three  rubies  alone. 
Most  of  the  bags  contained  jewels  in  settings,  all 
of  old,  and  some  evidently  of  very  ancient,  style. 

"You  will  have  to  dismount  these  jewels  and 
melt  up  the  settings,"  said  Harry.  "It  is  a  great 
pity,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it.  It  will  be  a  deli- 
cate affair  to  dispose  of  so  many  ancient  stones  as 
it  is.  Don't  attempt  to  do  it  all  at  once  or  in  any 
one  place.  Take  years  for  it,  and  do  it  all  over 
the  world.  You  have  time." 

Then  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  other  chest. 
Being  more  protected,  the  door  was  less  glued  by 
the  green  corrosion  and  after  turning  the  ring-bolts 
aside  Harry  easily  pulled  it  open. 

This  also  contained  bags,  but  all  filled  with  old 
,gold  coin  of  various  countries,  mostly  sequins  of 
the  Venetian  Republic.  This  was  a  deep  case  and 
contained  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  bags. 

We  piled  the  bags  on  the  floor,  and  by  our  united 
strength  we  lifted  the  heavy  chest  out  of  the  cavity, 
disclosing  a  third.  Upon  this  lay  a  folded  parch- 
ment. 

As  Harry  picked  this  up,  a  key  fell  out  of  it. 
He  held  the  parchment  near  a  candle. 

"Albina's  hand  again,"  he  remarked.  The  writ- 
448 


The    'Accursed    R.  o  c  c  o  s 

ing  was  short  and  he  soon  read  it.     It  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"The  third  and  last  box  contains  nothing  of 
value.  I  do  not  forbid  the  finder  to  open  it.  The 
key  is  enclosed  in  this  parchment.  When  she  has 
once  seen  for  herself  what  the  box  contains,  I  beg 
her  in  memory  of  me  to  lock  the  box  again,  return 
it  to  its  place,  and  leave  it  there  forever.  Let  the 
key  be  thrown  behind  the  first  sarcophagus  to  the 
right  of  the  crucifix,  the  which  coffin  contains  the 
dust  of  one  who  was  far  dearer  to  me  than  all  my 
heir  shall  find.  Then  when  my  heir  shall  have  re- 
moved this  treasure  which  she  has  already  found, 
I  beg,  that  when  she  can,  she  will  close  this  vault, 
so  that  its  solitude  will  never  more  be  broken." 

"The  first  coffin  to  the  right,"  repeated  Harry. 

"The  father  of  the  illegitimate  child  of  course. 
Her  father  and  husband  were  buried  at  Curzola." 

"And  the  once  owner  of  the  old  violin.  And 
so  he  rests  there !  I  wonder  if  he  died  before  her 
marriage." 

"Why — oh,  yes.  Don't  you  remember  the  story 
of  the  haidukans?" 

"Oh,  yes !     Of  course !" 

We  lifted  out  the  third  box  and  unlocked  it. 
We  raised  the  lid  with  a  certain  reverence. 
,  The  chest  was  shallow  like  the  first  one  and  con- 
tained packets  of  old  yellow  letters,  a  diary,  a  faded 
handkerchief,  a  miniature  in  a  carved  ivory  frame 
bearing  the  face  of  a  man  seemingly  very  dark,  of 
fine  features,  with  a  wealth  of  hair  tied  behind  his 
head.  A  bit  of  faded  velvet  which  seemed  once  to 
have  been  the  collar  of  a  man's  coat;  a  bit  of  torn 
lace;  a  jeweled  locket  containing  a  wisp  of  black 
hair;  a  bit  of  torn  music  manuscript  yellow  and 
449 


The    'A  c  c  ur  s'e'd    R  o  c  c  o  s 

fragile  with  age;  two  little  twin  bottles  of  brilliant 
ruby  glass;  and  a  few  other  such  things. 

We  silently  closed  and  locked  the  chest  and  re- 
turned it  to  its  place.  Then  I  turned  to  the  first 
niche  to  the  right  of  the  crucifix  intending  to  throw 
the  key  behind  the  coffin  as  directed.  As  I  turned 
I  noticed  the  pall,  which  was  of  black  velvet, 
heavily  embroidered  with  almost  untarnished  gold. 
The  fabric  was  discolored  and  stained,  but  seeming- 
ly in  better  condition  than  that  of  the  other  crypts. 

"When  she  loved  the  father  so  well,  I  wonder 
she  hated  their  son  so,"  mused  Harry. 

"I  suppose  he  proved  undutiful  and  untrue.  Some 
of  those  letters  might  give  light  on  this  and  other 
things  now  forgotten.  We  might  look  them  over 
later.  She  has  not  forbidden  it." 

"Just  so!  Keep  the  key  for  awhile.  I  fancy, 
Ed,  that  after  all,  her  placing  the  will  in  the  violin 
was  a  piece  of  sentiment.  It  had  been  his,  and 
perhaps  she  had  the  feeling  that  she  was  giving  it 
into  his  care." 

"It  may  have  been." 

"Requiescat  in  pace!  Let's  get  through,  Ed! 
The  place  is  getting  on  my  nerves !" 

"Harry,  I  think  I  shall  leave  most  of  the  gold 
here  for  the  present.  The  bulk  of  the  treasure  is 
in  the  jewels.  We  can  get  the  gold  later  when  I 
have  less  on  my  mind.  It  has  been  here  undis- 
turbed a  hundred  and  twenty  years.  We  will  risk 
it  a  little  while  longer.  We  would  find  it  difficult 
to  carry  it  away  now." 

"When  you  come  again,  you  must  come  prepared 
to  melt  it  and  cast  it  into  bars.  Then  it  can  be  sold 
safely.  You'll  have  to  abandon  medicine  and  set 
up  as  a  wholesale  jewel  merchant." 

"Not  a  bad  suggestion.    I'll  consider  it." 

450 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

We  replaced  most  of  the  gold  in  its  chest  after 
first  returning  the  latter  to  its  former  place.  We 
kept  out  several  bags.  Then  the  empty  upper  chest 
was  replaced  and  we  returned  the  crucifix  to  posi- 
tion. We  moved  the  rest  of  the  treasure  upstairs, 
flung  our  tools  and  working  clothes  onto  the  stair- 
way under  the  altar  and  re-closed  the  secret  door. 
We  then  packed  the  treasure  into  our  lunch  bas- 
kets. After  this  we  lay  ourselves  upon  benches 
and  slept  dreamlessly  until  the  sun  was  high. 


451 


CHAPTER  XX 

ABOUT  three  months  after  our  success  described 
in  the  last  chapter,  Gisela  was  unveiled  and  set 
free.  She  had  received  the  news  before  I  did,  and 
when  I  drove  to  the  convent,  the  Sister  Superior 
did  not  keep  me  waiting  long,  but  left  me  and  sent 
her  in. 

As  I  waited  with  my  heart  full  and  scarcely  able 
to  breathe,  I  heard  a  door  open,  this  time,  and 
turned  to  meet  a  beautiful  flying  figure  which 
rushed  into  my  arms.  Neither  of  us  could  speak 
for  a  while.  Then  when  I  could,  I  asked  once 
more  the  same  old  question — and  had  my  own  an- 
swer, at  last. 

"Dear  heart,  of  course  we  shall  be  married !  Have 
I  not  loved  you  always?  But,"  and  she  smiled 
half  sadly,  "you  will  have  to  wait  until  I  have  my 
hair  again,  dear.  I  have  not  been  tonsured  for 
nearly  six  weeks — I  did  not  know  why,  until  yes- 
terday— but  it  is  still  dreadful." 

"It  need  not  be  the  full  length,  my  love.  We 
will  let  it  grow  a  little  longer  and  then  I  want  to 
watch  it  myself  and  see  to  it  that  it  does  it  just 
right." 

"If  you  watch  it,  Eduard,  I  am  sure  it  will  be 
prettier  than  it  ever  was  before.  Oh — how  I  love 
you,  Eduard !  How — / — love  you,  tesoro  mio !" 

As  I  write,  it  is  May  of  the  following  year.    For 
more  than  eight  months  Gisela  has  been  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Count's  house.     She  openly  accuses  the 
452 


The    ^Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

Count  of  making  love  to  her  every  day,  and  the 
Count  laughs  delightedly  at  the  notion. 

"Never  mind,  Edward.  Between  us,  Gisela  and 
I  can  keep  him  straight  while  he  is  in  the  house," 
asserts  the  Grafin. 

Her  hair  is  not  long  enough  to  do  up  yet,  but  she 
says  that  with  "help"  she  hopes  to  look  present- 
able at  our  wedding  in  September.  She  has  not 
explained  what  this  "help"  is  and  I  have  not  in- 
quired. 

I  have  succeeded  in  converting  much  of  the 
treasure  into  cash  but  the  selling  of  the  whole  will 
take  time.  I  do  not  know  the  value  of  it  yet,  for 
it  is  going  far  beyond  my  expectations,  as  every 
single  gem  in  the  collection  has  proven  to  be  of  the 
best  quality,  and  many  of  them  great  rarities. 
When  Gisela  was  informed  of  the  probable  value 
of  what  she  had,  she  held  up  her  hands  in  amaze- 
ment and  unbelief.  Then  she  pressed  me  to  take 
it  all; — she  did  not  wish  to  hear  more  of  it,  she 
said.  But  I  only  accepted  the  return  of  my  entire 
outlay  in  her  behalf.  That  was  a  bagatelle  when 
compared  to  the  whole. 

Harry  also  received  his  treasure;  not  merely  as  a 
loan,  but  as  a  gift  from  both  of  us.  When  he  was 
informed  that  henceforth  the  violin  was  his  very 
own,  he  took  Gisela's  hand,  bent  and  kissed  it 
reverently,  and  told  her  that  henceforth  she  was  his 
Goddess  enshrined  above  all  other  women.  When 
he  had  finished  this  speech,  I  whispered  in  his  ear: 

"Little  dago  with  two  eyes  and  two  ideas!" 

"Jackass!"  he  whispered  back. 

"Which  of  us  do  you  mean,  Harry?" 

But  he  deigned  no  reply  to  this. 

I  heard  him  play  on  the  violin  at  a  concert  in 
Brussels  last  winter.  It  sang  out  with  a  glorious 

453 


The    Accursed    R  o  c  c  o  s 

noble  voice,  filling  the  auditorium  with  a  paean 
which  seemed  to  sing  of  work  well  done  and  of  a 
joyous  release,  just  tinged  with  a  certain  shadowy 
something  that  may  have  been  the  lingering  affec- 
tionate memory  of  another  long-departed  hand. 
But  it  will  forget  that  other  hand  in  time;  for 
Harry  loves  it  like  he  will  never  love  a  woman,  and 
such  a  love  must  beget  its  return. 

Cecilie,  too,  has  succeeded.  She  is  not  the  great 
artist  that  Lubitza  was,  sweeping  upon  the  public 
like  a  blazing  star;  but  "die  Narishkina"  has  at- 
tained a  good  position  in  the  operatic  world,  is 
advancing  steadily  in  her  work,  is  happy  in  it,  and 
asks  no  more. 

But  none  of  us  is  happier  than  the  old  woman 
Teresa;  for  she  is  with  her  mistress  again  and  will 
remain  with  her  for  the  rest  of  her  life. 

I  hear  that  the  Ingenieur  has  been  promoted  again 
and  if  nothing  happens  to  him  that  he  will,  one  day, 
occupy  a  high  place  in  the  army.  I  have  further 
heard  that  he  is  to  marry  a  certain  Fraulein  Bauer 
from  whose  father  he  will  receive  a  heavy  dot. 
However,  I  do  not  envy  him.  Besides,  I  cannot 
help  but  believe  that  a  shadowy  hand  is  hovering 
over  his  head,  and  that  in  its  own  good  time  it  will 
descend  and  drag  him  down,  perhaps  upon  the  very 
threshold  of  his  highest  success,  as  it  did  his  former 
fiancee. 

I  have  never  seen  Signor  Tomanovich  or  his  son 
Paulo  since  my  trial.  Neither  came  in  my  sight 
during  the  visit  of  last  year  at  Cattaro  or  during 
two  subsequent  ones  that  Harry  and  I  made  in 
order  to  remove  the  gold,  and  to  carry  out  old  Al- 
bina's  last  wish. 

Bright,  pretty  Amalia  Sbutega  is  now  a  very 
rich  girl — richer,  even,  than  Gisela.  She  wrote 
454 


The    Accursed    R o c c o s 

Gisela  not  long  ago  that  she  was  looking  for  a  hus- 
band now,  and  Gisela  suggested  that  I  go  down  to 
Cattaro  and  offer  myself.  I  answered  that  I  felt 
bound  in  honor  to  her  now,  and  didn't  feel  that  it 
would  be  doing  right. 

Le  Tre  Sorelle  still  exists,  somber  and  grim  as 
ever.  Last  spring  after  Harry  and  I  had  removed 
the  last  of  the  gold,  we  had  workmen  come,  brick 
up  the  door  into  the  catacombs,  and  fill  the  stair- 
way and  the  altar  with  earth  and  stones.  Then  we 
replaced  the  upper  tablet  of  the  altar,  to  remain. 
This  was  done  in  obedience  to  old  Albina's  last 
request. 

I  never  expect  to  revisit  the  house.  It  will  stand 
for  years  to  come,  a  tomb,  enshrining  the  dust 
which  Albina  had  loved  so  well,  together  with  those 
little  things  in  the  third  casket  under  the  crucifix 
which  she  so  reverently  had  deposited  there. 


THE  END. 


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